Second Chances
by Sai the Super Saiyan
Summary: Raditz has been depressed for some time. Suddenly, he is offered a second chance at life... but why? Is there an ulterior motive afoot, or is there not...? Can also be read on Wattpad.
1. Chapter 1

There was something wrong.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up as I felt something odd in the air. There was definitely something wrong. I couldn't exactly sense what it was, but it was troubling. I stood and grabbed the closest shirt – I was only wearing a pair of dark purple tracksuit pants – and jerked it over my head. I pulled my hair out from the back of the shirt and headed outside of the tent that I was living in.

I squinted and shielded my eyes as sunlight streamed down on me. I saw numerous others standing around, all in the same confused state that I was. I saw King Vegeta standing with my father, discussing something. I immediately felt worried as I pushed my way through the crowd. Someone placed a hand in front of me, and I looked over to see Tora – Dad's best friend – standing there shaking his head.

"Tora, what's going on?" I asked in a whisper, and he shrugged. He dropped his arm as we both looked at the king and Dad. They were talking in whispers, and it was impossible to hear what they were saying. The rest of the Saiyans were standing at a respectful distance – giving the king privacy – but I wanted to know what was going on.

Suddenly, King Vegeta's eyes met mine, and before I knew it he'd walked over, grabbed my arm, and had dragged me from the crowd. The other Saiyans looked at me curiously, some showing sympathy. Dad looked very un-sympathetic as I was dragged over. I struggled to get away, not understanding why I'd been picked out of all the Saiyans. It didn't make sense. I wasn't very strong, compared to most Saiyans. There were young Saiyans who were stronger than me, although that was because they were elite- and medium-class Saiyans.

"King Vegeta… I know that he was requested, but I don't want him to go," Dad said quietly. King Vegeta sighed as he let me go, and I rubbed my arm. The king had a very tight grip; my arm was actually beginning to go red where I'd been gripped.

"I'm sorry, Bardock, but you cannot go against King Yemma's wishes… if this is even his doing," the king said. I was confused now. I looked back and saw all the Saiyans looking over at me, possibly thinking that the king was crazy. He probably was, too; nobody knew what losing both his sons had done to him. At least both of them were alive… I hoped.

"Alright… I'll go with him, then? At least to the Check-In Station?" Dad suggested. King Vegeta nodded and dismissed the other Saiyans so we could pass. Dad grabbed my arm (in the same place the king had, causing me to yelp quietly) and dragged me towards a building that I knew the ogres worked at. Two in particular – Goz and Mez – worked there, and I knew that my brother had beaten them in strength and speed. But what had the king meant by 'King Yemma's wishes'?

"Dad, can you tell me what's going on?" I asked quietly. Dad looked at me and sighed. I looked at him desperately. "Please, Dad. I need to know. I'm confused," I said. Dad looked like he wanted to keep a secret. But I kept pleading, and finally he gave up. He stopped and let my arm go.

"King Yemma… requested that you be brought to him. He said that I would be allowed to come… at least as far as the Check-In Station," he said. I began to wonder what he meant. "I think King Yemma is thinking of sending you back to the real world," he said.

"Um… I think King Yemma's gone crazy," I said. There was no way that he could send me back to the real world, the living world. After all, I'd done some pretty bad things when I'd been alive, and the only way I'd be ever allowed to go back would be if I went through the soul cleansing machine… and since I'd kept my body in death, I couldn't get my soul cleansed.

"Maybe, kid. But we have to see what he wants…" Dad said sadly. He started walking towards the building again, and while I wanted to run, I knew it would do me no good – Dad would just catch me again – so I followed silently.

After a brief discussion with the ogres in charge for the day, Dad and I were heading towards the Check-In Station. I frowned as I walked up the stairs. Dad led me silently. It took a while, but eventually we reached the top of the stairs. That was where Dad stopped. He turned to me, and I wondered if he was departing now. Instead, he stepped closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I towered over him, but he always ignored that fact.

"Raditz… Please stay safe. Please. I don't know what King Yemma wants, but…" Dad trailed off then. I looked away. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I hastily wiped them away. Dad wasn't one for affection, but I felt like I was leaving him on his own. And I didn't really want to do that. While Dad had friends, I was his last family member in Hell.

"I will, Father. I will. Don't worry about me, okay?" I said, smiling. Dad nodded. I sighed as I looked at the door to the Earth's Check-In Station. "Are you allowed to come in, or not?" I asked. Dad shook his head, and my face fell. I wanted my dad to come with me, but if he couldn't I had to settle with that. I suddenly grabbed Dad in a bear-hug. "Dad… I feel like I'm not gonna see you again…" I murmured. Dad said nothing, but he did return my hug.

"See ya later, Raditz… if you ever return," he said sadly as he separated. Dad began to walk down the stairs, and I looked towards the door and took a deep breath. I walked into the door, and I was faced with King Yemma.

The ogre definitely impressed me. I couldn't believe that I'd tried to fight him once; he'd overpowered me and had sent me straight to Hell. I looked down at my feet meekly as I stood in front of him, noticing that I had no socks or shoes on. Great.

"Son Raditz?" King Yemma asked, and I flinched upon hearing my full name. I wondered if my younger brother knew that Son was his last name; he used it with his Earth name.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, trying to sound meek. King Yemma leaned over his desk and looked down at me. I felt very small compared to the ogre.

"Well, at least they didn't give me the wrong Saiyan," he muttered to himself, and started to shift through all of his paperwork. I stood there, feeling like an idiot. That was when I heard an odd noise, and I turned my head slightly to see someone that I really didn't expect… and that I didn't want to talk to.

"Hey King Yemma!" the cheerful, peppy voice of my younger (brain-damaged) brother chimed, and I tried to repress the guilt that coursed through me. He walked right next to me and looked at me, grinning from ear to ear. I didn't return his smile; I didn't feel like I deserved it. His face fell, and he turned back to King Yemma. "He doesn't realise, does he?" Kakarot said, and I wondered what he meant as King Yemma started to laugh and shook his head. "Okay then!" the younger Saiyan said cheerfully, and suddenly he turned to me and placed his hand on my arm. I began to panic as he placed two fingers on his forehead…

And then we teleported.


	2. Chapter 2

"Holy fuck!" I cried as we appeared in the wildness near where I'd died. I stumbled and fell onto my knees, gasping for breath. Kakarot stood there, looking at me in concern. I couldn't believe how fast we'd moved – almost at the speed of light – and I was now shocked beyond belief. No person could have possibly moved that fast unless they knew the Yardrat technique or Instantaneous Movement… "What the fuck was that?" I demanded of my little brother. He smiled at me (which was kind of creepy).

"I used Instant Transmission!" he said. I remembered that that was the name of the Yardrat technique, and I wondered when he'd ever gone to Yardrat. The Ginyu Force, last I'd known, had been going to destroy Yardrat while Frieza had been heading to Planet Namek for whatever reason. I didn't try to delve into their affairs; it'd probably be far too confusing for me.

"Okay then…" I said. I stood shakily, and Kakarot tried to help me. However, something in me snapped. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed, and Kakarot jumped backwards in shock. I took in a few ragged breaths, and he took a few steps forwards, his hands outstretched. "Don't come any closer… please," I pleaded. He stopped and looked at me with a confused expression.

"Raditz, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, trying to calm me. I believed him, but I wasn't worried about that. I knew he wouldn't hurt me; he was a kind and gentle Saiyan, something that could only emerge from severe head trauma or from a very rare birth oddity.

"I'm not worried about that, believe me," I said carefully. He seemed to understand.

"Then why are you worried?" he asked carefully.

"I'm not worried. That's the thing. I hurt you pretty badly – almost killed you – and tried to capture my nephew… I've done bad things – horrible things – that I can't forget. I can't redeem myself for them, either. I don't want to be a part of your life, Kakarot; I'll cause you nothing but pain," I said without taking a breath. Kakarot was silent for a few minutes. Then he took a few steps towards me, seemingly not caring that I didn't want him to approach me. He placed his hand on my shoulder – a gesture so similar to Dad's back at the Check-In Station – and looked me dead in the eyes.

"That's not true, Raditz," he said. I frowned.

"What's not true? What I've said?" I asked. A tear escaped from the corner of my eye and trailed down my cheek, and I wiped it off with my thumb. "It is, Kakarot. I shouldn't have done that to you and Gohan," I quietly said, turning away. His hand fell to his side.

"Raditz, we've given you a second chance at life. Please don't hurt yourself this way. Please," Kakarot said, and I turned my head so that I could just see his face. He looked miserable, and I felt horrible just looking at his face. Everything I'd done to him – the guilt I felt from all those years ago – was fresh in my mind. I didn't understand how he'd managed to forgive me, either; that made it about thirty billion times worse.

"I can't help it," I said simply.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused at my statement. I shrugged.

"Saiyans tend to repress their emotions. We keep everything locked away inside. Although, as you've probably realised while living on this little planet, that's kind of bad," I explained, hoping that I could make him understand without actually telling him. No dice. Kakarot didn't appear to understand the explanation I'd given him. Shit. "I'm keeping all my pain inside. I'm not trying to burn off steam."

"Don't do that!" Kakarot exclaimed, and I flinched backwards. "Please don't do that!" he cried, grabbing my arm (in the exact same spot that Dad and King Vegeta had grabbed really tightly), causing me to yelp. He immediately let go. "Are you hurt?!" he asked, concerned. I rubbed my arm.

"No, not really. It's just a bit sore," I said nonchalantly. Kakarot frowned at me, but before he could say anything he flinched and looked towards the sky. I followed his gaze, but was unable to see anything, so I looked back at my little brother with a worried expression. Suddenly a ki blast hit the ground near me, and I barely dodged in time. I heard Kakarot call out with worry, trying to stop the attack… and then I heard the voice of the young man who, when he'd been just a young boy, had severely injured me due to the release of a hidden power.

A hidden power that had now been unlocked, I realised.

"Gohan, stop, please! You don't understand!" my brother yelled as his son landed. Gohan had definitely grown up. He looked much different, and he was now missing his tail. Was it Earth custom to remove the Saiyans' tails or something?

"Don't understand what, Dad? That my homicidal uncle – who, I might add, tried to kill you and kidnap me – is back from the dead?!" the half-Saiyan yelled. His words stung, for they were painfully true, and I quickly suppressed the guilt that surged through me, knowing that it would come back to haunt me later.

"No! He's not that way anymore!" Kakarot exclaimed, and I wondered what he meant. If he meant that I was no longer evil, then he was actually correct. I was more guilt-ridden than evil now; I didn't want to kill my brother. That had been a stupid move anyway. "Please, listen to me!"

Gohan looked like he was about to fire another ki blast, but at the last minute I saw the ki blast disappear. Gohan's hand fell, and he looked at me with his dark Saiyan eyes. I flinched. Gohan's eyes had an intensity that even elite Saiyans would be frightened of. They were the eyes of a warrior who'd seen his comrades die in battle many times. To be honest, they were the eyes that many Saiyans came back with after missions, when they were the only survivors of their squadrons or teams.

"Dad… I think we need to tell everyone else," Gohan said then. I wondered what he meant by 'everyone else' but Kakarot seemed to understand. He didn't react too well. He actually stood in front of me, and Gohan's eyes widened. "I'm not threatening him, Dad. What's wrong?" he asked. I realised.

"Vegeta's here on Earth, isn't he?" I asked. Kakarot nodded. Great. Fucking wonderful.

"Dad… he's probably already sensed us. C'mon, we'll take Uncle to Capsule Corporation and see what happens then. I'll fetch everyone while I'm at it; I think all the Z-Fighters should know," Gohan said. He sounded quite a lot smarter than Kakarot, but that was probably due to the fact that he'd actually had some semblance of schooling, whereas Kakarot hadn't.

After a brief hesitation, all three of us flew off. I trailed behind Kakarot, a bit concerned about the fact that Vegeta was living on the planet. I was terrified of him; he was way stronger than I could ever hope to be! But, like I'd always been taught, I suppressed the emotion again. This was definitely going to come back and bite me on the ass later. I was building a catalyst inside of me, I could tell. Back when I'd been dead, I was fairly certain Dad was able to tell too. That probably explained why he'd been so careful when he spoke around me; Saiyans were deadly when they were set off.

While we were flying, I realised that Kakarot and Gohan were taking me directly to a human city, so I stopped, shocking them both. Saiyan instinct welled up inside of me, but I didn't want it to take over. I fought against it. The instinct to kill fought against my will to allow the humans to live. I didn't want to kill them; that would make me seem like a monster again.

"Fight it, Raditz," Kakarot said carefully. He knew I was fighting it, but I was beginning to lose. It was an instinct that had been born from generations of murder and bloodshed; Saiyans had killed entire civilisations for as long as any of us could remember. It was in our genetic coding to kill. "Don't let that monster consume you," my little brother urged. I struggled silently, and finally I repressed the instinct. It had taken a lot of my energy, but I was relieved that I'd managed to put the beast in its place… for now, anyway. We began to fly again, but due to the lack of energy I started losing my ability to fly.

Shit, this wasn't good.


	3. Chapter 3

I didn't realise I'd crashed until I woke up lying on a couch. I groaned and sat up wearily. I was covered in cuts and bruises, and I poked one of them gingerly, flinching when pain shot through my side. My clothes weren't gone, at least, but they were absolutely wrecked; it wouldn't be socially acceptable to walk around it them, coupled with the fact that most of my clothes were back in Hell.

The door opened then, and I looked up just to see a woman with blue hair walk into the room. I recognised her from the island I'd found Kakarot on, the day I'd come to take him with me. I did not, however, know her name, or why she was here. I eyed her warily as she placed something on the desk and turned around. She mustn't have known I was awake, because she shrieked in shock as she saw me.

"Oh! When did you wake?!" she exclaimed. I told her carefully that I'd only woken up a few minutes before she'd entered, and she sighed in relief. "Well, you could have called. One of us would have come in to see you," she said. I didn't know what she meant by that, so I ignored her comment. She picked up the thing she'd placed on the desk and walked over to me. I was picking at a loose thread of my trackies, so I only noticed that she'd approached when she dumped the thing on my head… or, rather, the clothes. "Vegeta got them for you," she said nonchalantly. I pulled them off my head and thanked her for them politely, all the while thinking about Vegeta, worriedly. She walked out, allowing me to get changed. I observed the clothes carefully, making sure they weren't anything bad. The shirt was a plain black T-shirt, and the pants were a pair of dark blue jeans. I sighed.

I quickly changed, but decided to keep my normal clothes; I'd be able to get some more use out of them, at the very least. I did not, however, call out. I didn't want to at the moment. I wanted to have a bit of alone time. I took a few deep breaths and looked out of the nearby window. It was dark outside, and I began to wonder how long I'd been out for.

A knock on the door startled me, and I whipped around as the door opened. A familiar face – very familiar – walked in, and his dark eyes met mine. I swallowed and took a few steps backwards, the fear I always felt around this man rearing its ugly head. He stopped walking towards me then. I cowered against the wall.

"Raditz, please relax," he said. I felt like laughing.

"Why the fucking hell would I relax?!" I said, accidently yelling. I immediately clamped my hands over my mouth, thinking that I was now in trouble. Vegeta did nothing that I thought he would do. Instead, he walked closer and stood only a few metres in front of me.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Just calm down, please," he said.

"I don't know if I can, your Highness. Please don't tell me to calm down," I said worriedly. Vegeta sighed and sat down on a nearby chair. I stayed where I was.

"Raditz, listen to me. I am no longer Prince Vegeta. I am simply Vegeta, okay?" he said. I hesitated before nodding. So it was just Vegeta now. Okay then. "Now, I wanted to talk to you like an equal. Is that acceptable?" he asked. Again, I hesitated before nodding again. He gestured at a seat nearby, but I shook my head. I didn't feel like sitting. He sighed. "Raditz, please, just try to relax! I just want to talk. I'm not going to kill you or anything."

"Vegeta, I fear you! You know that!" I exclaimed. My emotions were bubbling, and I desperately tried to suppress my emotion. I didn't really feel like having an outburst at Vegeta, especially when he was a lot stronger than me.

"Yes, I do know that. I don't like it."

"What?" I asked, confused. He hated that I feared him? What the fuck?

"I hate that you're scared of me. You're the brother of Kakarot and the son of Bardock, and…" Vegeta trailed off as I looked away. "What's the matter?"

"Don't compare me to them. They may be my family – my blood – but I'm nothing like them!" I yelled. My emotions were beginning to rage out of control. I was losing control of myself. Vegeta began to look panicked. He stood and walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. Unfortunately, my instincts took over, and I did something that – under normal circumstances – I wouldn't have done.

I shoved Vegeta away.

The Saiyan prince slammed into the wall, and slumped onto the floor, looking absolutely stunned. I gasped, and carefully walked over to him. What had I done? I stopped approaching as people – people I didn't know – ran in, followed by Kakarot, Gohan, and the blue-haired woman. Kakarot ran over to me, while everyone else went to attend to Vegeta. I fell to my knees, shaking like an earthquake.

"Raditz, what just happened?" Kakarot asked. I knew _exactly_ what had happened. I'd lost control.

"I just lost control…" I murmured, looking up at my little brother. He frowned, but said nothing. Instead, he sat down next to me and watched everyone else. They all seemed very worried, save for the Namekian.

I lurched backwards upon seeing him. My sudden movement caught everyone's attention, even Vegeta's. The Namek looked on, unsympathetically. Yeah, that would be right. Why would my killer be sympathetic to me? It made sense that he wouldn't.

"Piccolo, this probably isn't the best time for you to be here…" Gohan said. I saw then that there was a boy who looked almost identical to Kakarot. I silently questioned my brother, trying to ask him if he had another son using just my eyes, and he nodded, seemingly understanding my question.

"Do they not like each other?" Kakarot's little boy asked, and Gohan sighed.

"Goten, Piccolo and Uncle Raditz have a bad history."

Clearly, Goten hadn't been told about me, because his face changed when Gohan mentioned that I was his uncle. He had an incredulous expression on his face, almost as if he couldn't believe it. But, then again, he'd probably only seen two Saiyans in his life, and that would have been his father and Vegeta.

"He's Dad's brother?!" Goten exclaimed. Gohan nodded, and Goten ran over to me curiously, against Gohan's urging. The little seven-year-old poked me gently in the arm, and I made sure not to move too much, so I didn't scare him. Everyone watched for my reaction, but all I did was follow Goten's movement with my eyes.

Well, I did until he grabbed my tail.

That caused a reaction from everyone. I flinched, immediately feeling the weakness that came from having one's tail squeezed. Everyone took a guarded stance, save for Vegeta, who knew that I was utterly incapable of doing anything at this moment. I'd not trained my tail to eradicate the weakness.

"Goten, let go," Vegeta said coldly. Goten paused – he'd taken to pulling on my tail – before dropping it. My strength immediately began to return, and while I felt like punching the kid, I refrained. "Don't do that again," the prince warned. I saw briefly the cold prince that he'd once been, and then it was gone. I shivered involuntarily. It was the cold prince that scared me, and I'd started to relax after I hadn't seen it. Whatever progress I'd made had just disappeared.

"Sorry…" Goten said sadly. Vegeta said nothing else on the topic. Instead, he walked out of the room, and slowly everyone cleared out, save for Kakarot, Gohan, and the blue-haired woman.

"Bulma, is Vegeta…?" Kakarot trailed off, and Bulma – the blue-haired woman – sighed and shook her head.

"He's just a little frazzled," she sighed, before she walked out after everyone else. Gohan sighed and walked out too, just leaving Kakarot and I. We both sat in silence for a bit. Then Kakarot stood. I looked up at him, but I didn't stand. He looked down at me.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, and I was about to decline when my stomach betrayed me. Not that it would have mattered anyway; Saiyans couldn't really hide their appetites from their fellows. Kakarot laughed. "I'll get you something to eat," he said cheerfully. I nodded as he walked out. Something settled in my stomach then, like I'd swallowed an iceberg. I had a terrible feeling that something was wrong…

My feeling turned out to be correct.


	4. Chapter 4

Rain poured down outside the window, and I sighed as I stirred my food around my plate, not actually eating it. Next to me, Kakarot was already on his 53rd dish – namely a bowl of noodles – and next to him Vegeta was on his 49th dish. To anyone else, the Saiyan appetites would have been embarrassing. To me, seeing people wolf down their food and eat at least 60 dishes a night was actually rather comforting. It was a pity that I'd lost my appetite after only three dishes; the food was delicious.

But I was worried.

I looked out of the window and dropped my fork with a clatter. Something was luring me outside, and some basic instinct seized me. Without even thinking I simply stood and walked out the door. I heard a cry, and the clattering and smashing of dishes being dropped onto tiled floor. I paid it no mind, however. I needed to know what was out there. Dad had always said that I was too curious for my own good, and I vaguely heard his words ringing in my mind as I pushed the door open.

The rain splashed onto my face, and all through my hair, but I didn't care. I carefully wandered around the back of the residence I'd been staying in, and saw something tremendously shocking. The pool was reflecting something that I shouldn't have ever seen tonight. Instinctively (and stupidly) I looked up…

…To see the full moon.

I stood there like an idiot, staring up at the huge sphere. My tail unravelled from my waist and dangled limply against my leg. I began to hear my heart beating. I heard the sounds of voices calling my name, and I felt someone shaking me gently, trying to get me out of my trance-like state. But Vegeta should know that it wouldn't work. Things began to go fuzzy and dark, and I could feel that I was slipping away from reality, that the monster inside all Saiyans was beginning to take control. I couldn't do anything, either; the only way to help me now was to cut off my tail, or knock me out or something.

Vegeta opted for the first option.

The fuzziness and darkness abruptly went away, and I blinked a few times in shock. I barely remembered what had happened, and I collapsed onto my knees, shaking a bit. I felt a hand on my back, and someone leaned down next to me.

"Hey, Raditz, focus on me," Vegeta said, and I looked at him. Even if I hadn't transformed, I was still exhausted; that was the effect of losing my tail. "Are you alright?" he asked. I didn't know what to do.

"What happened?" I said. I sounded tired.

"You must have sensed that the full moon had risen. Saiyan instinct took over then, and you began to transform," Vegeta explained. I frowned. That explained the darkness and fuzziness. "I had no choice but to remove your tail. If I'd simply knocked you out, this would have happened again," he explained.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully. I didn't get an answer – at least, not from Vegeta. It was Gohan who answered my question.

"The full moon occurs every month on this planet," he said. I frowned as I shakily stood, and stumbled a bit. I was used to not using my tail for balance; it was lack of energy that made me stumble. I noticed Kakarot standing nearby, shielding Bulma and another woman, who had black hair and looked very Saiyan-like. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was a Saiyan woman. However, there were none of them left; our race's blood would get thinner and thinner until there was basically none left… That would mark the end of the Saiyan race entirely. The very thought made me shudder in horror.

"Raditz, let's get inside. It's cold and wet out here," Vegeta complained suddenly as everyone started to hurry inside. The words 'cold and wet' stuck in my head, and I realised that my hair was going to be a big mess unless I dried it soon. I followed Vegeta inside, and someone threw a towel at me. I yanked the towel off of my face to see a woman with blonde hair smiling at me. I thanked her as she walked out, saying something about hot chocolates or something along those lines. I didn't pay too much attention to the mutterings of a ditzy human woman.

"Aw man…" I whimpered as I dried my hair. Already it was becoming tangled and knotted, and there was no way that I was getting it all cut off. I didn't know how I'd function without it; I'd been born with it, and I found my hair a very useful weapon seeing as it was all spiky. It was also very thick, and warm. Hell, I could use it as a blanket if I needed to.

Eventually, everyone began to disperse and head to bed, and I headed back to the room I'd been given. Kakarot followed me, and I turned to face him, although I had no evil intention.

"Do you have something on your mind?" I asked. He looked down at his feet.

"Can you tell me about… our parents?" he asked. The question shocked me a bit, but I shook my shock off.

"Sure," I said, and we walked into my room. I closed the door as Kakarot sat on the floor, and I took a seat opposite him. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to know?" I asked.

"What are they like?"

"Well, Mum wasn't a very big part of my life, and she died after giving birth to you, so I don't know what she was like. Dad, however, is a very… well, he's odd. He's not like other Saiyans. He tends to act silly and clownish," I said, making Kakarot crack a smile. I explained to him what Dad had been like, and we chattered long into the night. My little brother actually fell asleep where he sat, and I found a few spare blankets and pillows for him. I got into bed myself, and just as I was about to fall asleep, I looked over at Kakarot. He looked so peaceful and vulnerable when he slept. A tear ran down my cheek as I turned away. How could I have done what I did? Kakarot had done absolutely nothing to deserve my wrath, yet I'd tried to kill him – and kidnap Gohan – without a second thought…

I closed my eyes, trying to dispel my thoughts so I could get some sleep. No luck. My mind was racing. I was thinking about all that I'd done to my family. I'd tried to kill one, tried to kidnap another, and had completely disappointed another (even though he didn't let up on it)…

Was I nothing more than a failure?


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up blearily when I heard the door shut gently. My hair was an absolutely mess, but it wouldn't take too long to fix it, seeing as it would automatically return to its natural state. I looked around, rubbing my eyes. Kakarot was still asleep on the floor, in the most comical position ever; his blankets were everywhere and he was splayed out across my floor. I snickered as I stood and walked over to him. I picked up a few of the blankets and folded them up before putting them on a nearby set of drawers. However, the hard thing was getting the pillows and waking him up. Honestly, I didn't really want to wake him up. I didn't know what he was like if he got woken. I could only hope that he was nothing like Dad; that was, a grumpy bastard who flipped his shit at everyone.

I saw there was a bunch of folded clothes on the desk, and I saw a piece of paper folded on top of them. I picked the piece of paper up and unfolded it using only my thumb and forefinger. It had barely legible script on it, but I could read it.

_You left most of your clothes in your tent. I got permission from King Yemma to give them to you… at least now I know that you're okay…_

There was no signature or name, but I didn't need one. The note was from my father. Tears prickled up in my eyes as I read it over and over again. Poor Dad; he didn't need to worry himself over me. But he did anyway, even though I was nothing more than a failure. I hastily wiped my eyes and put the note down, folding it back up as I did so. I then grabbed the clothes. Indeed, they were the clothes I'd left behind, and I saw that Dad had even grabbed the red bands I wore. Happily, I slipped one on my left arm and tightened it, tying the second one around my left leg. I grabbed the first shirt I saw – a dark blue shirt – and grabbed a pair of black trackies. While Kakarot slept, I changed and folded the clothes up, sorting them into piles. If I'd inherited anything from Mum, it was her meticulous organisational obsession.

I yawned as I placed the orderly piles in the cupboard, and I stood up and stretched. I sighed as I heard a knock on the door, and answered it to see Gohan, looking very sleepy.

"Is Dad in here?" he asked, yawning. I had to suppress my own urge to yawn as I nodded. I stepped aside and pointed to my little brother. Gohan sighed as he walked into my room and started gently shaking his dad. "C'mon Dad, wake up…" he said sleepily. Kakarot didn't stir.

"Move," I suddenly ordered. Gohan looked up at me before moving. I didn't really want to do what I was going to, but I had to. It would probably be the only way to wake Kakarot.

I kicked him in the nuts.

The scream that emanated from the younger Saiyan was ungodly, and it hurt my ears. Gohan cringed away as everyone – regardless of whether they'd been asleep or not – ran in. Normally, I would have been pissing myself laughing, but it was really not funny. Especially since it was my brother.

"What did you do to him?!" the Saiyan-like woman (who was apparently Kakarot's mate) demanded. I shrugged and told her what I'd done, only to get a frying pan to the face. Ouch. "You could have crippled him!" she screeched. I rubbed my face.

"Yeah, I know. But I didn't," I said. The woman turned on me, and Bulma and Gohan grabbed her arms.

"Chi-Chi, come on, let's go prepare breakfast or something," Bulma suggested, as her and my nephew dragged Chi-Chi out of the room. Everyone else followed, save for Vegeta, to go calm down the Saiyan-like human. Vegeta snickered as he leaned over Kakarot, who was still cringing in pain.

"I did some damage, didn't I?" I asked. Vegeta nodded.

"Yeah, definitely. If he's not crippled he's gonna be the luckiest Saiyan in history," Vegeta snickered. I couldn't see how Kakarot's predicament was funny in the least. Then again, I had no idea how bloody bad Kakarot was when he got really and truly angry. Vegeta stood and departed then, muttering something about doing some training.

"Well, I hope there's no lasting damage…" I murmured to myself as Kakarot began to be able to speak some semblance of normal words. He seemed extremely pained when he spoke, however.

"Why'd you do that?!" he whined to me, and I shrugged.

"Because that's the way I wake people who sleep like rocks up?" I sarcastically responded. Kakarot looked at me, giving me a 'fuck you' look. I grinned, and looked around, my face falling as I realised that Gohan had departed. "Oh, Gohan was looking for you earlier, too," I said. Kakarot's face lit up.

"Really? Where is he?" he asked. I pointed outside my room.

"I don't know, but they dragged your mate off. She got angry at me," I said, trying to be not the slightest bit miffed. Unfortunately, my face was throbbing; that pan had been the most painful thing I'd ever experienced, for some reason. "What the hell was that pan made of?" I grumbled to myself. Kakarot overheard, and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said simply. I cocked my head to the side. I'd heard something that sounded familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it. It had sounded like an explosion. Suddenly, Kakarot looked very concerned about something. "Oh no!" he cried, and before I could ask for an explanation he ran out. I put my feet into the nearest shoes I could find (a pair of flip-flops) and ran after him. At least I could run in flip-flops, unlike most people.

"Kakarot, what the hell is wrong?!" I yelled, trying to get Kakarot to slow down, but he still continued running at an incredibly fast pace. I suddenly gathered all of my ki, and pushed it behind me. The result force allowed me to fly forward, and I grabbed my little brother's arm, having caught up to him. I didn't slow him down at all! He just continued to run.

He finally skidded to a stop, and as my feet touched the ground I surveyed the surroundings. My eyes widened as I realised that there was a massive hole blown in the wall, and I could see the insides of another room. There were gravity machines embedded into the floor, and I realised that this was some kind of training room.

There was also someone lying on the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

"Shit, is that Vegeta?" I asked worriedly as Kakarot ran into the room. My eyes widened as my little brother was almost shoved to the floor by an unknown force. I realised that the gravity was still at whatever level Vegeta had been training at. I could only watch in shock as Kakarot managed to drag himself over to a tablet and try to lift his arm high enough to press something. He managed to turn the machine off, and breathed a sigh of relief as the gravity turned off. I walked into the room and over to the fallen prince. He seemed burned – almost as if he'd been hit with a ki blast – and he was definitely unconscious.

"Oh no! Vegeta!" I heard someone yell, and was comically shoved out of the way by Bulma, who leaned down near Vegeta and shook him gently. "Vegeta, please, wake up!" she cried, sounding very desperate. I realised that these two were mated as I saw a lavender-haired boy run over to the couple. He seemed very concerned, and as I studied his face I saw Vegeta's facial structure. I frowned as I walked over to my brother, who seemed to be standing quite fine now.

"So can you basically tell me what happened? And how you detected that so bloody fast?" I asked quietly. Kakarot looked at me with the stupidest expression on his face before nodding. He told me about his ability to sense ki, and he also told me that an explosion like this wasn't uncommon; it had happened before, according to what I was told…

"Goku!" Bulma called then, and Kakarot's head whipped around to look at the blue-haired woman. She seemed very concerned. "Can you get the phone?" she asked. That was probably the worst question to ask my little brother; he didn't appear to have a clue what she'd said. That, or he didn't know where this 'phone' was. Hell, I didn't even know _what_ a phone was.

"I'll get it," Gohan sighed as he ran out. I hadn't even realised he'd been there. He came back a few minutes later, holding something that vaguely resembled a funny-looking scouter. I frowned as he did something to it and handed it to Bulma. Yep. Human contraptions definitely confounded me. "Here. I've dialled the hospital, but haven't called yet," he said.

"Shouldn't you get him to an isolation chamber?"

Everyone stared at me, completely dumbfounded. I frowned. Was my suggestion odd to them? It didn't seem so odd to me. Then again, I'd grown up with isolation chambers aplenty to help with near-death situations.

"Raditz… there isn't any on Earth," Bulma said. I stared at her.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!" I exclaimed. I confused everyone; they all gave me really odd looks.

"What do you mean?" Kakarot asked, cocking his head to one side. I face-palmed. I was getting nowhere with these people.

"I can build isolation chambers," I explained. Everyone stared at me, their mouths gaping. It was a wonder some of their lower jaws weren't touching the floor.

"But don't you need certain materials?" Bulma asked. It was true that I did need certain materials, but most of them could be found on this planet, and a few had to be synthesised. The main problem I would have was actually finding the metal used to build the chamber. That would be a problem, seeing as it was the same metal the Attack Balls were made of… and as far as I was concerned, there were no Attack Balls left. "Hey, get me a list of materials, and I'll see if I can get them for you!" Bulma said suddenly. I smiled. This was perfect!

"We'd need to get them very quickly," I warned. Bulma shrugged and I quickly scrawled the list down on a piece of paper. When I handed it to her, her blue eyes scanned it quickly and efficiently, and she nodded, telling me that she could get most of the materials almost immediately. "I'm gonna have to go to my Attack Ball, however, to get the metal I need," I said. Bulma shook her head.

"No need; we managed to synthesis the metal. We built two or three spaceships out of them… and then Vegeta blew them up," Bulma said cheerfully. I rolled my eyes. Vegeta would definitely do something like that.

"That's wonderful!" I said. I walked over to Vegeta and picked him up then, getting a few looks from everyone. "We need to get him somewhere else, preferably so – if he wakes – he'll instinctively know exactly where he is," I explained. Everyone nodded as Bulma led me to their bedroom. I stopped. There was absolutely not going in there.

"You alright?" Kakarot asked, poking me lightly in the back.

"I'm not going in your room," I said carefully to Bulma. She frowned.

"Why?"

"It's impolite."

"Oh," Bulma said, sounding very stupid. We ended up moving Vegeta to the lounge room, and then I requested to go somewhere where I could begin building the isolation chamber. Since I couldn't move it from where I built it – it was far too heavy, even for Saiyans – I had to find an empty, suitable room. Luckily for me, there was an empty room, and Bulma helped me set up. "Call me if you need, okay?" she said before walking out. I knew that I wouldn't call her; I preferred to work alone, to prevent distractions.

As I started working, I noticed that I wasn't alone. There was a cat, sitting on the windowsill. I hated cats. They were infuriatingly annoying, in my opinion.

"Shoo," I said, waving my hand at the cat. I felt like throwing a hammer at it, to be perfectly honest. It didn't move, either; it simply meowed at me and kept staring. I growled at it. My fury was growing. "Go away! Go annoy someone else!" I hissed, picking up a nearby scrap of metal and hurling it. I threw it really hard, and it lodged into the wall because the cat jumped out of the way. The animal did not, however, leave the room, because it jumped onto the floor and meowed at me again. I pouted in displeasure. "What the hell is your problem?!" I demanded. I felt silly, talking to a cat.

It meowed again before trotting out. I grimaced and started working on the frame of the isolation chamber, knowing that I had to work quickly, or Vegeta would be in trouble…


	7. Chapter 7

I was going to die.

I was quite certain that I was, anyway. I'd drunk so much coffee that I was certain I was close to having a caffeine overdose. But I'd had to drink lots of coffee, or I wouldn't have finished the isolation chamber. As it was, I still wasn't finished it. I was still working on the cell synthesisation mechanism – the one aspect I always had a bit of trouble with. It wasn't that I didn't know how to build one, no. It was a very small mechanism, and I had really long fingers. Dad had once told me that my fingers were equivalent to sausages.

"Shit," I murmured as I dropped a bit of the synthesisation mechanism. I picked it up delicately and noticed that a speck of dust was on it. That wouldn't do. This was a very important part of the machine, and I didn't want it to get ruined due to any sort of error. Not even one speck of dust.

"RADITZ!" Kakarot blatantly yelled as he randomly smashed the door open. I jumped and nearly dropped the delicate mechanism. "Whoa…" he breathed as he stopped right behind me. I was sitting on the floor, and in front of me was the isolation chamber. One of the outer encasing plates was removed, but that was the place where I had to put the mechanism. "Is that the thingy-ma-jig?" my younger brother asked.

"Yes, Kakarot, it is," I said bluntly. Kakarot didn't appear to take the hint. He sat down next to me and looked at what I was doing.

"What's that?" he asked carefully. I finished the mechanism then, and stood up.

"It's a cell synthesisation mechanism. The isolation chambers need them for the special fluid that regenerates and heals Saiyans…" I trailed off as Kakarot gave me a confused expression. "You don't understand, do you?" I sighed. He shook his head, and I walked over to the machine and plugged the mechanism into the machine. It whirred and clicked at me, which was a good sign, as I shut the metal plating. "What it's supposed to do is to heal us," I said, trying to simplify what I'd said before. Understanding glinted in his eyes, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"So that's gonna help Vegeta?" he asked. The question sounded stupid, considering that he should have known, but I ignored the stupidity because I knew Kakarot wasn't quite normal. I nodded in response to the question and pressed a few buttons on the panel nearby. The chamber began working, and I grinned.

"Can you get him? It's working now," I said. Kakarot nodded and ran out to go get Vegeta. I looked at the mess scattered around me. There was a coffee mug, and lots of bits and bobs that would have been useful for later projects. I sighed as Gohan and Kakarot walked in, Vegeta between them. Frowning at their method of carrying him, I took him and sat him in the machine. It probably would have been better to strip him, but that would have been embarrassing to explain. The machine worked just as well when the person inside had their clothes on, anyway. "Alright, set it to this setting, and…" I murmured to myself. I saw that, out of my peripheral vision, everyone had followed and were watching. I frowned to myself, but continued setting the machine up. With a flick of my wrist, I shut the hatch and pressed a button. Blue liquid filled the chamber, and I happily smiled. It had worked.

"So now what?" Bulma asked as I set about, plotting tasks for the machine.

"We wait. The isolation chambers heal people faster than your human hospitals would have," I said. Bulma frowned at me, and I thought I'd said something wrong.

"How are you so certain?" she asked.

"Is that a trick question?" I responded with sarcastically. Nope. It wasn't. She looked at me, dead serious, and I sighed. "I've been in isolation a few times before, and my father even more so. I used to stay with Dad while he was recovering, and I used to monitor how fast he recovered… Well, it really depended on how injured the idiot was," I explained.

"How injured?" Bulma squeaked, looking worriedly over at Vegeta. I sighed.

"Vegeta's injuries are nothing. Some Saiyans used to come back almost dead… and at most it took them a few hours to recover. Vegeta will be fine," I assured everyone. A blonde-haired woman – who I'd noticed before – took a few steps forward and grabbed my shirt collar. "Hey, wha…?" I demanded, confused, but she shushed me. Her pale blue eyes seemed to glow…

"You better not be lying, pal, or I'll kill you," she threatened. I panicked immediately.

"I'm not lying!" I exclaimed. This woman scared me. She let me go and walked over to a little blonde-haired girl (with no nose?), and picked her up. Kakarot walked over to me, looking at the woman with an angry expression.

"Eighteen, don't do that! He helped us out!" he exclaimed angrily. What an odd name for a woman. Was she a slave or something?

"I don't trust Saiyans. I barely trust you, but only because Krillin does," she muttered. Great. She walked out then, followed by the little girl, and I sat on the ground next to the isolation chamber. Sadness flowed through me. So the Saiyan stigma had reached this planet too? Wonderful.

Everyone departed, save for myself, Kakarot, Gohan, Goten, and Vegeta's son (who, I'd found, was named Trunks). I shut my eyes and tried to ignore them, but that was difficult considering that Trunks and Goten refused to stop pestering me.

"Hey! Mr Goku's Brother!" Trunks said. The sheer stupidity of the title he gave me made me open my eyes and look at him. His blue eyes were looking up into my black ones.

"My name is Raditz, kid," I replied. Trunks frowned.

"Okay then. What are you gonna do now that Dad brought you back?"

Everything stopped. I felt my insides go cold. I couldn't believe it. Kakarot's face told me that he hadn't wanted to tell me yet. Oh no.

"Vegeta… revived… me?"


	8. Chapter 8

For a few hours I'd been sitting alone in my room. Vegeta had woken up previously, and after a brief argument between myself and the prince (which I'd strangely won), I'd run off. I still couldn't believe it. I'd been under the belief that Kakarot had revived me; he'd implied it numerous times. With this new revelation, I'd started to panic. Vegeta usually didn't summon people unless he wanted something, and I was worried about what he wanted from me.

Kakarot had come to see me a few times, but I'd been very blunt with whatever I said. He'd eventually gotten sad and disinterested, and had left. I felt miserable.

"Raditz," someone said then, and I looked up to see a man with a halo above his head, standing directly in front of me. His unkempt hair and scar tipped me off to who he was; otherwise he would have looked exactly like Kakarot.

"Dad…" I whispered. He walked over and sat down next to me. I'd sat in the corner of the room, trying to tell everyone that entered that I was in no mood to talk, and it had worked. Hell, it had even worked on Vegeta!

"You right, kid?" he asked. I sighed and turned my head away from him, only for him to grab my chin and forcefully turn my head back to him. "Raditz, please tell me!" he whispered urgently. I shook my head as much as I could, and he sighed before letting go of my chin. I rubbed my jawbone gingerly. "Raditz, as your father I demand to know what happened. Something is bothering you," he said. I was about to protest, but I couldn't risk it. He'd probably punch me or something.

"Dad… I'm just a bit shocked. I didn't think that _Vegeta_ had revived me… But then again, why would Kakarot?" I said, miserably picking at a loose thread in my jeans. Dad put his hand on my shoulder.

"Raditz… For god's sake, please stop it. Please, just… stop," Dad said. I didn't understand what he was talking about for a few minutes, until I realised that he seemed very angry.

"Stop… what?" I asked, confused.

"Stop keeping it all locked away! You're going to kill yourself. Please, please, just… I don't know!" Dad exclaimed, exasperated. I sat there looking silly. A flash of realisation appeared in Dad's eyes then, and he turned to me, looking excited. "Hit me."

"What?!" I shrieked. No way had Dad just suggested that. "You want me to hit you?!" I exclaimed. Dad nodded. "I'm going to hurt myself!"

"Nah! Trust me!" he said cheerfully. I stared at him. I couldn't believe he'd suggested that I hit him. I frowned and stood. "C'mon, Raditz. I won't get hurt!"

"You have no idea how much anger and grief and _everything_ I have pent up inside, Father. I don't want you to fall victim to that," I said, taking up a fighting stance when he once again urged me to hit him. He took a defensive stance, but I wasn't sure how much that would help him…

Before I could do anything, however, the door opened. I saw Kakarot standing there, and behind him was everyone else. My little brother looked very worried, as did Vegeta. Dad just looked curious.

"So, you're Kakarot, huh?" he said. Kakarot looked over at Dad, and frowned.

"Do I know you?" he asked. Dad seemed taken aback. I smothered a giggle. How funny!

"I would assume so… I'm your father!" he explained. Kakarot looked shocked.

"My… father? But you're dead!" he exclaimed.

"Well, yeah, but I was allowed to come back to check on Raditz," he said. I frowned.

"Um… check on me?" I asked. I didn't really like it when people came to check on me; I felt as if it was a waste of time, for both the person checking and I. Dad turned to me.

"Yes. I came to check on you. Instead of finding the happy-go-lucky kid who I wanted to see again, I find that you've further grown depressed. And that leads me to my next point. I want you to get rid of all that pent-up emotion," he said. I grimaced. My dad was an idiot sometimes. He really didn't think things through sometimes.

"But why do you want me to hit you?" I asked. That got a reaction from everyone. I heard Bulma fret about her house, and everyone else seemed worried, intensely so.

"Why do you want to be hit by a Saiyan who WILL release all of his emotion?" Vegeta asked, not understanding Dad's logic. Dad shrugged, and everyone sweat-dropped.

"Because I want him to be happy. He's depressed – can't any of you see that?" Dad argued. I frowned. I did not like this at all. I tried to hide everything; I was very secretive. If Dad could see things like that, who else could? I didn't want to know.

"I can see that, Bardock, I'm no idiot. But I've seen Raditz's power whenever he releases his emotion," Vegeta scowled. Okay, that floored me. Power? Released emotion? Those were the two things that I didn't have. I never released my emotions; that usually ended in me killing _everyone_. And I wasn't very strong at all. I'd never really gotten into fights.

"Yeah, I've seen it before too. And it seems as if he's not released it for a while," Dad said. I frowned.

"Hey, can I have an explanation?!" I demanded. Kakarot nodded, apparently wanting an explanation too. Hell, I think everyone wanted an explanation. Vegeta looked lost, as if he didn't know what to tell me. However, I saw that Dad was looking away. I reached over and grabbed his shoulder, turning him so he faced me. He looked cautiously into my eyes. "Dad, please tell me."

I kind of wish now that I'd never asked.


	9. Chapter 9

_"You can't take my son!" Dad cried as I was held roughly by the hair. I cried out as I was slammed against the wall again, and I saw Dad restrain from running forward and throwing a fit at my would-be kidnappers._

_"Oh, I think we can, monkey," a cold voice said, but I knew that it wasn't Frieza. This Changeling was much taller, and more powerful than Frieza could ever hope to be. He laughed as he held me up to his eye level, and then slammed me against the wall again. I was certain that my cries of pain were hurting my father, but I knew that he could do nothing to help me._

_"Please… don't hurt him. Raditz is just a child!" Dad exclaimed. The Changeling laughed as someone stepped out from behind him. I recognised this man; it was the Changeling that had annexed our race and forced us into slavery._

_Frieza._

_He laughed then. It was a cold, twisted laugh, with no warmth or sympathy in it. It was the laugh of a monster – no, of a demon. Even in my young age – I was fifteen at the time – I had seen enough coldness and cruelty to recognise the cruellest of tyrants. This was the worst I'd ever seen, and I certainly didn't believe that I would see anyone worse._

_"Father, is this the last one? The last child you wanted to take into our servitude?" Frieza said. I saw Dad freeze in shock, and I was utterly horrified myself. I couldn't believe that this was Frieza's father!_

_"Of course, Frieza. But this one… I think I'll keep this one," the older Changeling said, smiling evilly, lifting me up. I groaned in pain as he pulled on the roots of my hair. Dad looked shocked._

_"W-what do you mean?" he asked, horrified. Frieza's father snarled at Dad, and before I could yell for him to dodge, Dad was flung into the wall by a massive tail. I struggled under the Changeling's tight grip, but to no avail. I couldn't escape._

_"This Saiyan… let's hope he doesn't remember that I was here," Frieza's father said. A chill seemed to affect the room as he spoke, and I involuntarily shivered._

_"Let's hope he doesn't remember his son," Frieza suggested, and I felt something break inside of me. While Frieza and his father laughed, I looked at the unconscious form of my father._

_"Let… me… go…" I growled suddenly, and Frieza and his father looked at me curiously. Their curiosity quickly turned to an expression of shock. I expelled my aura then, and Frieza's father was actually forced to let me go, as he was flung into a wall. I heard Frieza gasp as he slammed into the wall, and I heard two thumps as the two Changelings landed on the floor. Tentatively, I walked over to my father and shook him gently. "Dad… wake up…" I urged. I didn't notice that Frieza had stood up, and was angrily stalking over to me. He raised his fist above my head, but before he slammed it into the back of my skull, I whipped around and caught his hand._

_"What?! A Saiyan… powerful enough to block my blow?!" Frieza exclaimed, shocked. I roared at him…_

_And everything went black._


	10. Chapter 10

"I did that when I was young?" I asked after Dad had finished explaining. Everyone was sitting on the floor in a circle, all just as shocked as me. Vegeta, however, wasn't shocked. He seemed to have some knowledge of this power I'd shown.

"Yes. Trust me; I was amazed to see that… I can still remember the look in your eyes…" Dad trailed off. I didn't blame him. He'd seen some pretty terrifying stuff. I wondered how high I was on his list of terrifying things he'd seen. I hoped I wasn't too high; I didn't want to scare my father. He was the last family member that I trusted fully. Actually, he'd been the only family member I'd ever trusted fully… or was he the only person in the world? I couldn't remember anymore.

"Vegeta, you said you've seen it too… but when?" Chi-Chi asked. She had Goten sitting in her lap, but was paying little to no attention to his antics. As it was, he wasn't doing much; sitting there and staring was about as much as he was able to do at the moment. Vegeta nodded. "When?" she asked.

"I was seven at the time; it was two years after Planet Vegeta's destruction," he said briefly. I hoped he would tell, seeing as I didn't remember at all. I began to wonder if this hidden power in my body was anything like Gohan's… After all, that time that he'd head-butted my stomach had been incredible… and apparently he couldn't remember it at all.

"Can you tell us more?" Krillin asked. I'd come to know all of their names, and I was a bit unnerved by Chiaotzu. He looked a bit like a Chinese vampire. Vegeta looked over at me, and I didn't understand. Then I realised that he was asking for permission to tell them the story.

"Oh, go ahead. I don't remember a thing, so I'd like to know," I said. Vegeta nodded and took a deep breath. Dad turned to Vegeta, wanting to hear what Vegeta had witnessed.

"It was during a mission, on a small planet on the other side of the galaxy. We'd been sent to wipe the population out and prepare the planet for sale, as was our job. Raditz and I had been sent without Nappa, as he'd been busy at the time. We searched for the population, but we were unable to find anything. Soon, we discovered why. They'd all been killed," Vegeta said. I nodded. I could remember that part. Everyone was enthralled. "As we tried to think of reasons why, I saw something that no child should have ever seen. It was the body of a man – Saiyan, that much I could tell – and we both noticed that he was wearing blue armour. I'd only ever known one Saiyan wearing blue armour…"

"Tora…" Dad murmured, and Vegeta nodded.

"It was then that Raditz just… he lost it."

"Tora was like an uncle to me," I said quietly. Dad had fallen silent, and had taken off his headband. It was in the palm of his hand, and I saw a tear escape from his eyes.

"It was the most traumatising thing I'd ever seen. For a brief moment, Raditz was as powerful – no, _stronger_ – than Frieza. He went berserk. It was utterly terrifying…" Vegeta stopped them. I had a dreadful feeling that I'd done something horrible.

"Vegeta… please continue," I urged. Vegeta looked down at his hands. They were shaking.

"Raditz turned on me then. His pupils were gone, his eyes turned into demonic soul piercers. I remember taking a few steps backwards and tripping over, only for him to mercilessly grab my hair and pick me up. His eyes narrowed at me… It held the universe's hatred, that glare," Vegeta said, shivering. Dad was now looking at me – everyone was – and I was looking down at the floor, barely able to believe what I'd been told. This was impossible!

"How'd you… get him back to normal?" Kakarot asked. I looked into Vegeta's eyes.

"I couldn't. But Nappa did."

"When did Nappa find us?" I asked curiously.

"Nappa came to search for us, because we hadn't finished our mission in time," Vegeta explained to me. I should have known that, but I couldn't remember much of that day. I didn't even remember getting back to Frieza's ship. "I'd managed to get out of your grasp, and I spent a few hours running away from you. I found Nappa a few hours later, and I won't ever forget what he did to you."

"What did he do?" I asked curiously. Vegeta's face displayed a ghost of a smile before he frowned.

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"Just tell me," I growled. I hated being kept in suspense.

"He ripped out some of your hair," Vegeta said. He knew I was very particular about my hair.

"He ripped out Raditz's hair?" Dad said, shocked. "How did the man not die sooner?" he asked. Everyone laughed. Even I cracked a smile.

"Probably because I couldn't remember the event," I said, after everyone had finally remembered to breathe. They all nodded. "I feel sick," I said suddenly. Dad immediately crawled over to me and looked me over, checking for any signs of infection or illness. "Sick in the stomach, Dad," I said sarcastically. Dad smacked me on the top of the head, and checked my forehead.

"You feel warm," he said.

"Do you need to go to isolation?" Vegeta asked. I shook my head.

"No… I need to sleep it off, I think," I said, yawning. I stood up and stretched, revealing my full height. I heard Trunks complain that I was really tall and made him feel like a midget. Yeah, I did that a lot. Even my own dad felt small compared to me.

I walked out of the room, blearily rubbing my eyes as I headed to my room. As I walked through the halls, I saw something that piqued my interest. I knew I should have headed straight to bed, but I was very curious as I pushed the door open lightly. Inside, the room was dimly lit, but I didn't need very much light to see. I saw enough.

I saw that I'd entered the room I'd built the isolation chamber in. However, the chamber was switched off, so it wasn't generating the light that I'd seen. No; that was being created by something else…

By a young man with black hair and pale blue eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

"You… look like… Eighteen…" I said, wary of this stranger. He smiled, but it wasn't the sort of smile that made one feel all warm inside. It made me feel like I'd swallowed an iceberg. I took a few steps backwards as he raised his hand, palm facing me. Ki began to appear, and I knew that I had to defend myself or I would be killed. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Strange… by all indications, you aren't living," the young man said, dropping his hand and frowning. He scratched his head. I stood there with a guarded stance. I wasn't letting this man get the drop on me. "I came here for my sister," he said simply and rather abruptly. I stared at him for a minute before realising that he'd answered my question.

"Your sister?" I asked warily. He nodded.

"Eighteen," he said. I frowned. Eighteen… she was the blonde woman who'd threatened me earlier. Come to think of it, she and this man _did_ look very similar. It would make sense that they were related.

"Does she know you're here?" I said, carefully taking a step backwards to the door. His eyes followed my movement, and I froze. He raised his hand again, and the glow of ki appeared again. I frowned and took my defensive stance again.

"Well, no, not really. I'd like to keep it secret," he said. Something about the way he spoke made a chill run down my spine, and goose bumps rose on my arms. The energy coming from his palm glowed even more vibrantly, and my eyes widened as I realised that he was going to fire. I had to think up something quickly, or I'd be little more than a charred corpse.

"You won't be able to keep your secret forever," I said, not trying to threaten him. Somehow, however, my words did turn into a threat. The young man's palm stopped glowing, and once again he dropped his arm. He scowled at me.

"Yes, I suppose you're right…" he murmured. Stupid thing to say. I knew I was right. I had a lot of secrets myself, and I knew what would jeopardise them. The young man suddenly walked over to the open window and jumped out of it. I ran over and looked down – we were a few stories up – but he was gone. He'd disappeared into thin air. I frowned as I closed the window as quietly as possible. Had I imagined that man? No, I couldn't have.

I headed out of the isolation room then, closing the door behind me, and headed towards my room. I pushed my door open, closed it behind me, and sat down on the side of my bed. My stomach was churning, and I didn't know why. It had to be something to do with my lack of food this day. I'd not eaten a crumb. But it couldn't be that. If I was suffering from lack of food, I'd be crippled, holding my stomach, unable to move.

I lay down on the bed, trying to settle my stomach, but I couldn't. I looked up at the roof and took a few deep breaths. Maybe I'd gotten food poisoning. But that was nearly impossible! Coupled with the fact that I hadn't eaten today, Saiyans rarely got sick. Our immune systems were incredibly strong. It had to be, considering that we were warriors by genetics. I had proof that our immune systems were strong, too; I'd actually witnessed my dad eat a rock during the Saiyan-Tuffle War.

"Hey, Raditz, you in here?" I heard Dad ask from outside my door, and I called to him. The doorknob turned and he walked in, closing the door behind him as he walked over to me and sat down on the edge of my bed. I was feeling even worse now – like I was going to throw up – and I was hoping that I wouldn't vomit all over my father. That'd be disgusting. He smiled at me, and I tried to smile back… but I failed miserably. "You don't look well."

"I don't feel too good, either," I said. Dad looked down at his hands. He'd tied his headband around his forehead again, I saw. I tried to sit up, so I could look Dad in the eyes, but he placed a hand on my chest.

"Relax, Raditz. Go to sleep," he said. Unfortunately, the way he said it made his words sound creepy. We stared at each other in terribly awkward silence. "I really regret that."

"You should, you creep," I scowled jokingly. He smiled.

"I have to leave soon," he said suddenly. My mood dropped. Now I was feeling sick AND glum. I didn't want my dad to leave, but I knew that he had to return to the Other World sometime… "I'll come back and see you when I can, but that might be hard to do, considering I'm apparently evil and whatnot," he said, shrugging. I smiled sadly.

"You're not evil, Dad. Not anymore," I said. He looked at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, more curious than angry. I sighed and tried to sit up again. This time, Dad didn't try to stop me.

"As Saiyans… we've done evil things. We've killed and destroyed. Yet, there are some among us that are pure-hearted. Unfortunately for them, they'll receive the same punishment as us. I mean, look at Vegeta. He's changed, yet he's still going to Hell," I explained, trying to allow Dad to understand my view. It seemed to work, as I saw understanding glint in Dad's dark eyes.

Suddenly, Dad stood up. I realised that it was time for him to leave and head back to the Other World. He looked down at me and smiled a smile that I hadn't seen since I'd been a child. It made me feel safe and comfortable.

"Goodbye, Father," I said. He said nothing as I saw him begin to disappear. He waved to me as he vanished from sight. I sighed as I collapsed backwards onto the bed. I already missed my old man. But I understood that he wouldn't be able to return to see me. He only had one day to return and see everyone, and no more days could be granted to him. A tear escaped from my eye, but since nobody was around, I didn't bother to wipe it away. I simply let it fall onto the bed sheets. I looked at the place it had fallen. It represented a manifestation of my sadness.

I closed my eyes as I started to think about things. I thought about everything I done to Kakarot, to Gohan, to Chi-Chi and Goten by default… I thought about my weakness compared to my younger brother and my father and, well, every Saiyan. It made me feel miserable. Sure, I had been born with the fighting instinct, but the strength that seemed to come so naturally to Dad and Kakarot had been lost on me.

A knock on my door startled me, but I felt too sick to move, so I just told them that they could come in. The doorknob turned, and young Gohan walked in. He closed the door and turned to me, but didn't approach. He seemed very nervous.

"You okay, Gohan?" I asked, genuinely concerned about the welfare of my nephew. He nodded, and cautiously walked over to me. I sat up – something my stomach complained about, but I ignored it – and moved over a bit so Gohan could sit. He did, and looked at me.

"I've been thinking about something," he started. I remained silent, and he continued after a brief of hesitation. "What Vegeta and Grandfather said about you… about that power you manifest when truly grieved or angry…" he trailed off and bit his lip.

"Go on," I said calmly.

"Well, what if I told you there was a way to unlock it?" Gohan said.

"Um… what?" I responded with. I sounded like a total idiot.

"Well, I had my hidden powers unlocked a few years ago by someone… The hidden powers that I used against you, remember?" he said. I did remember, and I also remembered what I'd come to realise the first day of my return to this planet. His power had definitely been unlocked, but I'd not thought much of it then. "I was thinking that, since Vegeta mentioned that you're… um…" Again, Gohan trailed off, and I prompted him to continue. "Well, please don't take offense, but you don't seem very strong." Gohan cringed away, probably thinking I'd punch him or something. I laughed.

"I'm not, Gohan, and I freely admit it. Don't worry, I won't punch you," I said. He seemed visibly relieved as he took a breath.

"I was thinking that maybe I could take you to the guy who unlocked my powers and convince him to unlock yours!" he said. I noticed that he seemed very uncertain about his own idea.

"You don't seem too keen on that idea," I mused. He blushed and looked down at the floor.

"It's just that the guy's kind of perverted."

"Oh dear."

"Yeah… I don't really know what I can do…" Gohan sighed. We sat there thinking about it for a while. It was me who came up with an idea, although I don't know why I was the first one to think of it.

"How about you get him a bunch of, um, dirty magazines?" I suggested. I felt my face flush as I spoke. However, Gohan thought it was a good idea, and muttered something about stealing them from a 'Master Roshi'.

Suddenly, I had a feeling that this would not end well.


	12. Chapter 12

"That's a good idea, Gohan," Vegeta said as Gohan told everyone our plan. He didn't omit any details, and I noticed that Kakarot couldn't help but laugh at my suggestion. Vegeta looked disdainful. "At least you didn't have the audacity to let him kiss my woman," he growled, shooting a very evil, pissed off look at my younger brother, who simply laughed nervously and looked away.

"Problem is, I have no way to get there unless Dad takes us there using Instant Transmission…" Gohan trailed off, looking hopefully at his father. Kakarot was nodding enthusiastically, and I began to wonder how his head hadn't fallen off already. Gohan looked over at me. "You feeling any better?" he asked. I frowned. While I was feeling a little better, I wasn't feeling up to the Instant Transmission. I hated that technique. But I knew that if Gohan's plan was to work, I'd have to feel better soon.

"I'm feeling a bit better," I replied, deciding to go with an honest approach. Gohan nodded, and Kakarot sighed.

"Do you know why you're feeling sick?" Bulma asked, and I shrugged.

"Well, I haven't eaten today, but I did eat yesterday. My metabolism's all muddled, but it must have processed something that was off," I said. I saw realisation flash in Vegeta's eyes.

"Are you thinking food poisoning?" he said. I nodded.

"Wait… you Saiyans can eat anything! How is it you can be poisoned by food?!" Krillin exclaimed. I didn't know. I didn't have an explanation.

"It is possible for us to get salmonella," Vegeta said. His voice hadn't gone cold, not entirely, but there was definitely something odd there. Krillin sighed, and I saw that Kakarot was looking a bit worried. Probably wondering about food poisoning. I sighed.

"Kakarot, it's rare for Saiyans to get salmonella. We have a heightened immune system, probably to help with our massive metabolism," I explained. Kakarot nodded, seeming to understand. "So, when are we leaving?" I asked curiously. I was feeling a bit queasy, but I was going to have to suck it up and deal with it. I'd dealt with sickness before, sometimes on planets with terrible atmospheres.

"We have to get something from Master Roshi first, and then we can head to the Planet of the Kais," Gohan said cheerfully. I'd been good with this plan, but as soon as he'd said that, there was no way I was going along with it. The Planet of the Kais was a place of the gods! No mortal should ever step on such a sacred place.

"No. I won't go!" I growled. Everyone looked at me and frowned. Vegeta stepped forwards, with his head cocked to the side.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I won't go to such a place. That's a sacred place," I said. Vegeta sighed.

"Look, if this is going to be an issue, I will knock you out and take you there myself," he growled. I frowned.

"Have you been there before?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes. And I was a lot worse than you are," he said. I knew what he meant, but nobody else did.

"Vegeta, what did you mean by that?" Bulma asked, poking her husband in the arm.

"I was ten times as evil, as hateful and vengeful, than Raditz has ever been," he explained. Bulma nodded, understanding. Vegeta turned back to me. "Raditz, go along with it, okay?" he asked. I heard an odd tone of voice, one that I'd used to hear back when we'd gone on missions, following Frieza's orders. It was a tone of voice that I couldn't disobey. It wasn't that I wouldn't obey; I actually _couldn_'_t_. This was the voice of the royal Saiyans giving orders. I hesitated for a bit.

"Of course," I said. It must have sounded odd, and Vegeta probably hadn't meant to use that tone with me, because his eyes widened before he realised what he'd done.

"Shit, sorry Raditz," he apologised. I shrugged.

"That's possibly the only thing that would have gotten me to go," I sighed. My stomach churned again, and I put my hand to my stomach subconsciously. I saw Vegeta's eyes move, following my movement. "It's alright. I'll get over it," I said, trying to ease everyone's thoughts. I don't think it worked.

"Gohan, maybe we should wait until Raditz has recovered," Kakarot said.

"It'll take me only a short while to recover and I've been able to function with much worse," I said. It was true; I'd been able to function with three broken ribs and a broken femur. Which, if allowed to, could have pierced my femoral artery… and I would've been dead.

"Raditz…" Kakarot complained. I grimaced.

"Don't start complaining, little brother. Just trust me," I said. He pouted, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared. I frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, he's just preparing to leave for the Planet of the Kais," Gohan sighed. Again, Vegeta had that disdainful expression on his face. He also had a grip on Bulma's arm, and he looked very possessive. I didn't even want to know what had happened. It would probably not end well.

Kakarot came back then, with a stack of rather obscene magazines. I frowned. Why had I suggested this?

"Oh good, you have them!" Gohan said. He seemed semi-gleeful, semi-disgusted. I felt like laughing at his expression, but I hid my amusement. "Let's go then," he said. He placed his hand on Kakarot's shoulder, and after some hesitation, I placed my hand on the other shoulder and steeled myself. Kakarot placed two fingers on his forehead again, and before you could say goodbye we were gone.


	13. Chapter 13

The Planet of the Kais was a beautiful place, I had to admit. Yet I got the shivers. I was standing on sacred ground, a planet of the gods, and yet Kakarot and Gohan seemed perfectly at ease. I was standing behind them, while they were in discussion. I frowned.

"Hey, Uncle Raditz!" Gohan called out to me, and my head snapped up to him. He motioned for me to come over, and I did, making sure I didn't fall in potholes or trip over a rock or something. As I stood next to him, I noticed that two people were approaching. One was a wizened old man, the other a young, long-haired man. Both had light purple skin, and pointed ears. The old man had what was akin to a Hitler moustache.

"Ah, Goku, Gohan!" the younger of the two said cheerfully.

"Hello Kibito Kai! Hello Old Kai!" Goku said happily. Honestly, Kakarot was very unnerving with his happiness. "We've come to talk to you, Old Kai, about unlocking Raditz's potential!" he said. He sounded _way_ too happy about that. The old one – Old Kai, apparently – frowned. Kakarot leaned over and explained what our plan had been, and I began to go red as he told the Kai that it had been my idea with the dirty magazines. Old Kai's face took on one of a lecher.

"Hey, Gohan… how is this Kai supposed to unlock my powers?" I whispered. Gohan snickered.

"Oh, you'll find out." The way he said it made his words sound horribly bad. I went completely pale. This was almost as bad as the incident with my dad and the thumb-war. "Huh? Uncle… are you alright?" he asked.

"No, I'm not okay." That was an understatement.

"I'm not going to ask," Gohan sighed. I agreed. He didn't want to know.

"Raditz, come over here," Kakarot said suddenly. I looked over and sighed as he motioned me over, and I walked over with a semi-cautious expression. He grinned. "Old Kai is gonna unlock your powers! Isn't that great?!" he said happily. I didn't know whether to be happy or wary.

"Alright, stand right there, perfectly still," Old Kai instructed. I did so and looked at the Kai.

"Now wh… um," I trailed off as Old Kai started dancing around me. _Dancing_. Panicked, I looked over at Gohan. He was snickering. "What's going on?!" I exclaimed.

"Old Kai's unlocking your powers! It's gonna take a while though." Gohan smiled, gleeful. I glared at him.

"God dammit," I frowned. "How long's this gonna take?"

"At least twenty-four hours; more depending on the level of power being unlocked," Kibito Kai said, seemingly disdainful. As Old Kai continued to dance around me, I stared at Gohan, Kakarot and Kibito Kai. This wasn't happening.

"Isn't there another way?" I frowned.

"Nope," Gohan said cheerfully.

Oh God what had I gotten myself in to? I had no idea why I'd agreed to this.

"This was a stupid idea," I mumbled to myself. Kakarot snickered and sat down underneath a tree. Gohan sat down next to his father and looked over at me. I sighed.

"Oh, by the way Uncle, this first step will take at least six hours," Gohan called. I felt cold inside. The first phase – the phase I was in now – would take _six fucking hours_?! I had to stand here for six hours?! This was utterly ridiculous. I didn't want to stand here for six hours! But I supposed that I had to. Otherwise, I was never going to find out if this guy could actually unlock my hidden powers.

About three minutes later, I wasn't feeling sick anymore. That was good; I didn't really want to stand here and feel sick for the whole time. It was likely that my immune system had taken out the salmonella, for which I was grateful.

"Hey, getting stiff and sore yet?" Gohan asked. I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or if he was actually concerned about my wellbeing. I sighed and nodded slightly. I saw Gohan sigh and speak quietly to his dad, who sat up and looked over at me. Kibito Kai was looking through a crystal ball, much like the one we'd watched Kakarot defeat that pink thing so many years ago in Hell.

"How long is this going to take? It feels like I've been standing here forever…" I breathed, but I knew I'd only been standing there for ten minutes, tops. I didn't like this at all. I wasn't allowed to eat, I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom… Hell, I wasn't even allowed to scratch an itch.

Fuck.


	14. Chapter 14

"So… now I just sit here for twenty-two hours?" I asked as I sat down on the ground. Old Kai nodded. After standing for six hours, it felt good to sit down. But the relief was overshadowed by the fact that I would have to sit still for at least twenty-two hours, possibly longer depending the amount of hidden power I had in me. Like that would be much.

"It's gonna be frustrating, sitting there for hours," Gohan told me as he walked over and sat down next to me. Kakarot joined us a few minutes later. He looked weak and tired, and I felt sorry for him.

"Yeah, I know… And you should eat something, brother," I said, looking at his tired face. He shook his head and told me that it wasn't really fair on me. "It's not fair that you're starving because of me," I objected. He shrugged. I looked over at Old Kai and huffed. I was steeling myself for this. I was _ready_ for this. Old Kai extended both of his palms towards me.

Nothing happened immediately.

I frowned. I hated sitting still. I really did. I was a warrior at heart, not a… not a statue or a garden gnome! To make it worse, apparently Old Kai could read and eat and whatnot. He was currently reading a comic book, and laughing maniacally. I was restraining my anger, determined just to sit through this phase of the unlocking.

I didn't actually think I would be able to sit through this, actually. It was incredibly boring…

"So Goku, how's Earth going? Has anyone threatened the planet lately?" Kibito Kai asked my little brother, and I decided to ignore what the Old Kai was doing and I tuned in to their conversation. They'd apparently been speaking about Earth while I'd been standing still.

"Yeah, everything's fine. The only real worry we've had was Vegeta blowing up the gravity room again, and Raditz helped us out there when he built some machine," Kakarot said, picking at a blade of grass. Gohan was snoozing next to him, and I sighed.

"Machine, you say?" Kibito Kai asked curiously. Kakarot nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I've been in one myself, when I was recovering on Namek," Kakarot said. I paled. Why had Kakarot needed to head to isolation? Had something terrible happened to him? "I can't remember what they're called though," he said, shrugging. I sighed. He didn't seem too Saiyan at times. In fact, it seemed to me that he was human in all but blood.

"They're called isolation chambers, Dad," Gohan murmured. I looked away from them then and looked back to Old Kai. Was this a test of patience or was this guy actually unlocking any hidden powers in my body? I couldn't even tell anymore.

Suddenly I heard snoring, and I blinked a few times as I saw that Old Kai had fallen asleep. My expression quickly changed from one of surprise to one of anger. He was asleep while I had to sit here awake for possibly more than twenty-two hours?! Fuck this shit.

"Hey, Old Kai, are you asleep?" I asked carefully, seeing the mucus bubble. It popped, and his eyes snapped open as he looked around, bewildered. He looked at me.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked. I sighed.

"Never mind, sir," I moaned. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep again. I sighed.

Hours later, while I was sitting there waiting, I started thinking about things. The first thing that popped into my head was the Saiyan-Tuffle War, and that was _not_ something I liked to think about. There was too much trauma involved in my experience of the war. I tried to block it out without moving. It was a near-impossible feat, but somehow I managed, forcing my thoughts to something else. Not necessary happier, but something different to thoughts of the war.

"Raditz, are you sleeping?" Kakarot asked, and I opened my eyes to see him sitting next to me, looking at my face curiously. It was creepy because he was right up close.

"Firstly, I am not sleeping; merely thinking about things. Secondly, you are far too close for comfort," I said. Kakarot took the hint and sat a few metres back. We both looked at Old Kai, who was still asleep. I sighed and looked over at Gohan, who was training with Kibito Kai.

"Thinking about what?" my little brother asked me.

"The Saiyan-Tuffle War, what I did to you… Lots of things," I murmured as I looked away from my brother. When I looked back, I saw that Kakarot appeared to be crying. "Kakarot, is something troubling you?"

"You don't seem to realise that I forgave you ages ago… you keep beating yourself up over it. Please stop Raditz. Please let it go," he begged. Our eyes – the eyes of our father – bored into each other. His dark eyes had intensity to them, but I knew mine looked haunted. I'd seen my eyes in my reflections many times, and recently they'd taken an ominous, haunted appearance.

"I'm trying, brother, I really am. But you have to understand that I… I _can_'_t_. I need help to let go of all this anger and rage," I said sadly, looking down at my feet. Kakarot looked over at Old Kai.

"We'll talk later, Raditz. I'm going back to Earth. I'm sorry, but I have to take Gohan too. Chi-Chi will get mad if I don't." Thoughts of Kakarot's mate filled my head, and I shivered involuntarily.

"Go then. I'll be alright," I assured Kakarot as he looked wary. He nodded, walked over to Gohan, and used Instant Transmission to head back to Earth. I sighed and went back to my thoughts. Unfortunately, my mind brought up the very thing I wanted to seal away; the horrible things I'd done to Kakarot and Gohan.

_Don't think about that, Raditz!_ I reprimanded myself, but the memories flooded in unrestrained. My skull felt tight. It felt like my thoughts were pushing on my skull, trying to escape. _Stop it Raditz. Stop it stop it stop it!_ It felt like my head was going to explode.

I finally managed to think of other things after a struggle. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and I couldn't move to wipe it away. My breathing was coming in ragged gasps, and my hands were shaking almost uncontrollably. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, but I only just managed to.

_I'm losing control. That catalyst is just building and getting larger… and easier to set off. I have to control it. I have to. I don't want Kakarot to get hurt because of me, not again… I don't want that for him. I don't want him to die. I don't want my nephews to lose their dad. I don't want my sister-in-law to be without her husband… They don't need that, not because of me._

_Not because of me._


	15. Chapter 15

I wasn't aware that twenty-two hours had passed until Kakarot returned. I'd grown used to sitting here, not speaking, not moving. It had allowed me to think about everything that I'd ever done, and all the blood that had been shed because of me. I'd become withdrawn into my thoughts. I remained in a meditative state.

"Hey, Old Kai, are his powers unlocked yet?" I heard my little brother's voice say, but I did not open my eyes. I didn't hear anything from Old Kai, but I assumed that he'd answered. "How many more hours at the most?" I heard Kakarot ask. I frowned. What did he mean by that? Had Old Kai not unlocked whatever power was in me yet? Was there more power inside of my body than I'd believed?

"It's going to take three more hours at least," Old Kai said, and I internally groaned. My legs were already numb, and my ass had started to get pins and needles about an hour ago. It was annoying.

"Okay. I'll wait over here… hey, Kibito Kai!" Kakarot said as he walked over to the tree Kibito Kai had taken to waiting under. The crystal ball they'd used to observe Earth was sitting in front of the younger Kai, and Kakarot peered at it curiously. I exhaled and settled back into my train of thought. I still had a lot to think about, and I'd been avoiding one topic for a while.

My relationship with my brother.

The best I could describe it was fragile, at best. It was really my fault; I never had had much experience with people. I wasn't very sociable. Dad had always known that I wasn't. He'd never made me do anything that had made me uncomfortable. It didn't help that my social problems stemmed from my involvement in the Saiyan-Tuffle War. Maybe if I'd not fought in the war – like Dad had wanted – I'd have a better social life. But I didn't think that. I'd always had a bad social life; nothing would ever change that.

"Raditz," Kakarot said suddenly, trying to get my attention. I opened my eyes and immediately noticed that Old Kai was over near Kibito Kai.

"Wha…?" I asked stupidly. He grinned at me.

"Old Kai finished ten minutes ago," he said cheerfully. I stood and stretched gratefully, and grimaced as all my bones cracked. Kakarot was staring at me, bewildered. I stared back.

"What's up?" I asked carefully.

"Wow… your power increased a lot!" he exclaimed happily. I looked down at my palm and frowned. I didn't feel any different… but then again, there was something different about me. I could sense it. "This is amazing!" Kakarot said happily. I smiled carefully at him.

"I didn't realise I had that much power," I said, semi-sadly. Kakarot picked up on the sadness and poked my shoulder. I looked down at the ground and tried to make sense of the emotions that were raging inside of me. I felt like I was in control, but losing control at the same time. Weird.

"Let's go home," Kakarot said suddenly, and I nodded. He waved at Kibito Kai and Old Kai as he placed a hand on my arm, and placed two fingers to his forehead. I steeled myself as we disappeared from the Planet of the Kais. Personally, I was grateful that I wasn't standing on that sacred ground anymore. No mortal should have ever stood on such ground.

When we reappeared, I saw everyone was waiting for us. Vegeta was the first one I noticed, mainly because he was wearing a Saiyan chest-plate. It looked funny, mainly because it looked like my father's armour, and I'd only seen him in normal clothes since my return to Earth. He stood out… or he would of, if it wasn't for everyone else. They all seemed to be in battle gear. I frowned.

"What's going on? Why have you all changed?" Kakarot asked carefully. So. They hadn't been wearing these clothes when he'd come to see me.

"We sensed a large power level," Vegeta simply said. I'd suppressed mine, using a technique I'd picked up from Dad, but I couldn't tell if Kakarot had. I had no way of being able to tell now that my scouter was gone.

"Yeah, it's probably Raditz," Kakarot said nonchalantly. I looked over at him as everyone stared at me. Involuntarily I shivered, feeling the piercing gazes. I hated it when people stared at me; it made me feel like even more of a freak.

"What do you mean? His power level's one thousand two hundred, same as it's always been," Vegeta said, looking very confused and bewildered. Kakarot looked over at me and smiled. I could tell that he was silently asking me to release the suppression I had on my power level, and I sighed as I did so. "Oh my god…" Vegeta whispered. His eyes widened as he felt my new power… and I still had no idea what my power level was.

"Wow! That's a huge power level!" Gohan exclaimed. I saw that nearly everyone could sense my power level – even the young ones, excluding Marron – and I started to feel a bit jealous. Dammit.

"Um, can someone give me an approximate reading?" I asked. Everyone else stared at me dumbly, but I had the feeling that Vegeta understood. As I'd thought, he did, as he nodded and looked at me. He stood there, concentrating for a few minutes. What he told me floored me.

"Um… you're stronger than Frieza's final form."

"WHAT?!" everyone said in unison. Gohan and Kakarot looked at each other, bewildered. They'd fought Frieza – I'd been told that Kakarot had defeated him – and had been able to sense his power. I'd only ever seen Frieza in his powered-down form… and that had been powerful in its own right. How the fuck was I stronger than his final, natural form? This wasn't possible!

"I don't know why that sort of power could be hidden for so long! It just doesn't seem… fathomable!" Vegeta murmured, turning away from us all. I stepped towards Vegeta and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright. Something tells me that I'm still a lot weaker than you or Kakarot," I said. Vegeta looked at me and sighed.

"I suppose you're right… but you don't seem too bummed about that," he noted. Usually I'd be bummed about being called a weakling, but now I didn't care. I'd come to the realisation that Goten and Trunks could beat me individually. I didn't know if I could defeat Krillin, Yamcha and Tien, but I was willing to bet that they could defeat me.

"I'm not. I know that I'll never be as strong as you, Kakarot, or even the kids," I said, smiling. Vegeta looked at me sadly.

"You could be, with some training."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time I trained with you?" I asked.

"What happened?" Bulma asked. Vegeta snickered and I scowled, punching him lightly in the shoulder. He rubbed it a few minutes later and complained.

"There was a _slight_ incident," I said, emphasising on the word 'slight'. Vegeta cracked up laughing, and had to grab something nearby for support.

"Slight? By the way you said it, it sounds a lot bigger," Chi-Chi noted. I nodded and pointed over at Vegeta.

"He's not laughing that hard for no reason," I stated. Vegeta didn't look like he was able to breathe. I saw Trunks walk over and poke his father lightly, but Vegeta just couldn't stop laughing, for some reason. I turned to him. "It wasn't _that_ funny, was it?"

"Yes!" he gasped, after a few minutes. He was gasping for air, and tears were running down his face.

"Can we have an explanation?" Eighteen asked. I nodded.

"Well, I think Vegeta was eighteen, and I was thirty-one. I was assigned to help Vegeta train, but that was the very day he didn't want to train against the Saibamen. He decided to use me as his punching bag." I paused, looking over at Vegeta. His face had the biggest grin on it.

"Raditz can move a lot faster than me, even though he's a lot taller and weighs a bit more," Vegeta said, assisting in my explanation. I nodded, and everyone seemed enthralled.

"Well, Vegeta couldn't hit me _at all_. He was getting frustrated, you could tell. And then he slipped up. He cornered me, and most Saiyans don't react well to getting cornered. I reacted in the same way most Saiyans would; attack. I didn't realise until it was too late that Frieza was standing right behind Vegeta."

"Oh… you didn't," Gohan murmured, his eyes widening as he realised what I was implying. I nodded, and he gasped.

"Yeah. I punched Frieza in the head," I said, blushing and looking away. Vegeta started laughing again. I growled at him as I looked over at him. "It was a complete accident, but…"

Vegeta took over for me then. "Frieza didn't take too well to the punch. He wrapped his tail around Raditz's throat – almost killed him, which isn't the funny part. The funny part is what Raditz did just to get out of his grasp," Vegeta snickered. Everyone looked over at me.

"What did he do?" Bulma asked. Vegeta and I looked at each other.

"I kicked him."

"That's not so bad," Bulma said, but fell quiet as she saw the grin on Vegeta's face. "Unless… you didn't…"

"Well, we ascertained that Frieza was a guy, at least," I said cheerfully. Everyone's eyes nearly boggled out of their heads. "We were seriously having our doubts."

"You kicked Frieza in the nuts? Why?" Gohan exclaimed, utterly shocked. I shrugged.

"Well, I was being strangled to death. I needed to get out of his grip somehow," I said. I shrugged and sat down on the floor. Everyone else sat down slowly, and I noticed that Kakarot was frowning.

"How are you not dead?" he asked carefully.

"I nearly was. If I hadn't kicked him, I would be dead. He dropped me, mainly because he was almost crippled. He ended up being carried off by Zarbon and Dodoria, and Vegeta and I haven't trained together since," I said, finishing the story. There was silence for a while, and then everyone burst out laughing. Even Piccolo and Eighteen cracked a smile.

"It's a funny story, isn't it?" Vegeta said as he stopped laughing for a few minutes.

"Definitely!" Bulma giggled. I smiled. For some reason, I was perfectly at ease around these people, yet I barely knew them. Dad must have been proud of me for finally learning how to socialise. I saw Bulma stop giggling as she looked down at her watch and went pale. "Oh my goodness, it's almost lunchtime!" she squealed, standing up abruptly. I saw Chi-Chi shoot up too. "Quick! Hungry Saiyans to feed!" she exclaimed as her and Chi-Chi ran out, and I wondered what she meant until Vegeta's stomach growled. Kakarot's growled about ten seconds later, and my stomach growled too. We looked at each other.

"They know Saiyans too well," I said. Vegeta nodded.

"Well, they are married to a Saiyan each," he said. I had to agree. I saw that Gohan and Goten had departed and Trunks had picked up a nearby ball and was throwing it against the wall, which earned him a chastisement from Vegeta. Eighteen had gone back to tending to Marron, and I saw that everyone else had gone outside to spar. I sighed as I leaned against a wall, and closed my eyes.

I didn't want this peaceful time to end, for some reason. A warrior I'd been since birth; all I'd even known had been fighting, killing and bloodshed. This peace was somewhat… different to me, but I felt perfectly at ease and comfortable in it. I didn't want it to end.

Unfortunately, things never really go my way.


	16. Chapter 16

Everyone stared as Vegeta, Kakarot and I almost inhaled our food. It had been a while since lunch had been called, but we three Saiyans were still eating; Saiyans were known for their huge appetites and their ability to eat almost fifty plus meals in one sitting… and still have room for dessert.

"Where do you store all that food?" Gohan said, his voice small as he watched us eat plate after plate after plate of food. I stopped eating and looked up at my nephew. My cheeks were inflated due to all the food I'd shoved into my mouth, and I swallowed it as I pointed my chopsticks at him.

"Our stomachs digest food _really_ quickly," I stated, before stuffing my face again. Gohan sighed and continued eating his food. I wondered why he didn't seem to eat like we did. I realised that he did, but to a lesser extent after I looked over at Goten and Trunks, who had at least thirty plates stacked between them.

Finally, we were all full. As I stacked the last plate on top of the last of my three stacks, I saw that I'd eaten the most food out of everyone. Kakarot looked stunned, whereas Vegeta didn't give a fuck. He knew that I could eat way more than he could.

"Woah… How can you eat more than Goku?" Bulma squeaked, her eyes wide and her face pale as she looked at the amount of plates that were stacked. I shrugged.

"This is normal, for me anyway. I eat a bit more than other Saiyans," I said, shrugging. Vegeta looked over at me.

"A bit? Try a lot."

"Bastard," I growled at him, and he laughed. Bulma and Chi-Chi stood to take the dishes, and I did too. They looked at me as I picked up one of my huge stacks of plates. "Here, I'll give you a hand," I said. Bulma and Chi-Chi smiled.

"Thanks, Raditz. I swear, you're more reliable than Vegeta sometimes," Bulma teased, looking over at her now-disgruntled husband with an evil smirk. I sighed.

"You could say that in some contexts." I walked towards the kitchen then, making sure I walked slowly, lest I drop and break all the dishes. I placed them down gently on the kitchen sink, and turned around to go get the rest of the dishes only to slam into Bulma. I caught all of the dishes she dropped before they landed on the ground, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry."

"That's okay, Raditz," she said, accepting my apology. I stepped around her and collected the other two stacks of dishes. I noticed that everyone seemed to have strangely disappeared.

"Hey, where'd everyone go?" I asked curiously. Chi-Chi looked out from the kitchen and frowned as she noticed that I was right. She looked behind her and spoke to Bulma, and the blue-haired woman looked out a few seconds later.

"How odd…" she murmured as she walked over to me. I observed that everyone had seemingly left in a hurry. Chairs were tipped over and I saw a broken plate on the ground… or, rather, _felt_ a broken plate on the ground as a shard shot into my foot. I yelped in pain as I instinctively and immediately jumped backwards. Unfortunately, I landed on the foot that had a ceramic shard in it, and more pain shot into my foot as the shard lodged deeper. Bulma and Chi-Chi looked over at me as I fell on my ass (making more pain shoot through me, as I landed on my coccyx).

"OUCH!" I yelled as I gripped the shard and yanked it out of my foot. Blood pulsed out, and I felt sick as I smelt the familiar rust-and-salt smell. I had to look away.

"Oh my god! Are you alright?" Bulma squealed as she ran over to me. I saw Chi-Chi grab something and sift through it. Tears were beginning to run down my cheeks as I clutched my foot. Chi-Chi ran over with a shot… but all I saw was the point of the needle, gleaming and sharp.

Instant panic mode engaged.

"G-get t-that thing away from me!" I screamed as I scrambled backwards. Chi-Chi and Bulma looked at each other and sighed.

"Not you too…" Chi-Chi said, exasperated. I was shaking like an earthquake. I couldn't help it. It was a fear that my whole family – save for my mother – possessed.

"Please… no needles. Pleasepleaseplease," I begged. I cringed against the wall and curled my arms around my legs. Blood started to pool underneath my injured foot, but I barely felt the sting because of the adrenaline shooting through my veins. "Please don't touch me with that. Please, I'm begging you!" I whispered.

"You're a grown man! You shouldn't be afraid of a little needle!" Chi-Chi said angrily. Bulma shushed her and leaned down next me, placing a hand gently on my shoulder.

"Raditz, it's okay. It doesn't hurt too much," she said soothingly. I shook my head violently, whacking her with my spiky hair. She flinched, but didn't move from my side. "You need this shot, otherwise you might get some sort of infectious disease!" she urged. Again, I shook my head, but not as violently.

Suddenly I saw movement behind Bulma and Chi-Chi, and I saw everyone standing there. Kakarot was just taking his fingers off of his forehead. Chi-Chi obviously saw what I did, for she flew into a huge rage and screamed her head off at my little brother. I felt sorry for the man. Saiyans usually picked very strong-willed wives. The fact that he'd picked out one of the strongest women on the planet made it worse.

"But Chi-Chi! I was just going to Korin's Tower to get some Senzu Beans!" he complained. Now that Chi-Chi wasn't pointing a needle at me – she was actually threatening Kakarot with it – my adrenaline was leaving, and the pain was beginning to take hold again. I gingerly touched the bottom of my foot, and flinched away when it throbbed.

"Well you didn't have to take everyone! And tell someone next time!" she screeched. I heard Vegeta murmur something along the lines of 'harpy bitch', and Bulma slapped her husband.

"Hey, what happened Raditz?" Kakarot asked, cocking his head to the side. I pointed down at my foot, and I saw him flinch. "Ouch! How'd that happen?"

"I stood on a ceramic shard from a smashed plate," I said through gritted teeth. I saw everyone flinch, and just to prove my point I held up the bloodied ceramic shard. I saw Krillin go green, and Eighteen rolled her eyes as Krillin ran off to go be sick.

"Shit. You need a tetanus shot," Vegeta said. All my fears about needles came back, and I started shaking again. I curled up tightly and buried my head in my knees. Vegeta looked at me curiously, leaning down and shaking my knee gently. "Are you okay?"

"No needles. Nononono!" I quietly murmured. Vegeta sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Great. I would have thought you'd have gotten over that…" he sighed. Bulma looked up at Vegeta and silently asked him a question. "Their whole family has that fear… Even Bardock," Vegeta explained. Bulma huffed and looked down at me. I looked up at her through my hair, which I had purposely pulled over the top of my head.

"Is this true, Raditz?" she asked. I nodded as much as I could, and then hid my face again. "Put the needle away, Chi-Chi," she sighed. I looked up eventually, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I over-reacted," I said sadly. Bulma shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Raditz. You haven't seen Goku yet," she said, laughing. I half-smiled and looked down at the floor.

Stupid fear.


	17. Chapter 17

_"Raditz, please, stop doing this to yourself!" Dad cried as he grabbed my forearms. I looked up at him, angrily, and jerked my arms out his grasp._

_"Don't tell me what to do!" I growled. Dad looked sadly at me as I turned away._

_"I'm concerned about your health! I mean, I used to be depressed too! But I didn't try to kill myself!" Dad yelled, grabbing my shoulder and roughly turning me to face him. I grimaced at him and jerked my shoulder out from under hand and took a few steps backwards. "Please, Raditz, listen to me! I don't want you to hurt! Please tell me what's going on!"_

_"Dad! I don't _want_ to tell you. Just trust me!" I screamed, tears beginning to run down my cheeks. Dad looked solemnly on as I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes. "I don't want to tell you my problems because I have to deal with them on my own," I said. Dad looked away from me._

_"Why don't you trust me?" he whispered. I shook my head._

_"Dad, I do trust you. But I just don't want to tell you what I'm going through. You don't need that sort of pain on top of your job," I pointed out._

_"Raditz, I care about you more than I care for my own job!" he screamed. I flinched as I took a few steps backwards. "I don't care if I don't earn any money! You need my fucking help, Raditz!"_

_"Dad, I don't need…"_

_"Yes you fucking do!" Dad pointed his finger at me and walked closer so his finger was touching my chest. "Don't you dare say otherwise!" he growled, looking darkly into my eyes. I looked away from him and refused to meet his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dark expression disappear. He looked defeated._

_"Dad, I'm sorry, but I need to sort this out on my own, okay?" I murmured, hugging my father tightly. Dad didn't respond, but he was grimacing. I saw tears running down his cheeks. "Please don't cry. I'm tougher than I look," I murmured, holding him at arm length. Dad nodded and sniffed, before wiping his eyes with his arm warmer._

_A knock on the door distracted us, and Dad sighed. He turned away and went to answer the door. He discovered that it was Tora, Fasha, Shugesh and Borgos, and as he walked out the door for a mission, he looked back at me with a dark, haunted look in his eyes._

_"See ya later, Dad," I murmured as the door closed behind him. I couldn't tell him._

_ I couldn't tell him that I'd fought in the war._


	18. Chapter 18

I sat upright abruptly after having the dream. The moonlight streamed in through the open window, and the curtains lightly waved in the breeze. I pushed my blanket off of me and walked over to the window, my bare feet making no noise on the floor. I leaned against the window's frame as I looked out over the city, and rested my head on my crossed arms. It was a very quiet night indeed.

Yet I was restless. I couldn't help it. It had been a long time since Dad and I had discussed my lapses into depression, and while I wasn't depressed at the moment, I knew that there were things that would set me off. The dream would probably be one factor of my depression.

I sighed as I walked back over to the bed and sat down, burying my head in my hands. I gripped the sides of my hair and pulled lightly, trying to distract myself from my mental anguish. The physical pain was enough to distract me, and I exhaled a breath I hadn't been aware that I'd been holding. My eyes flicked to the window, and I saw a shadow. In horror, I scrambled backwards, which resulting in me falling off the bed. When I looked up, I saw the cat sitting on my windowsill, and I growled in anger. Stupid animal.

"What the hell do you want?" I hissed. The cat meowed at me and jumped off my windowsill, and I frowned as I walked over and looked out yet again. I saw the cat standing on a windowsill just underneath mine. "Hey, what are you doing?" I whispered. It simply meowed again and jumped onto the ground. I frowned as it turned and looked up at me. It only took me a moment to decide to follow it.

I quickly grabbed some respectable clothes (no way would I walk around wearing my pajamas) and pulled them on before jumping out the window. I stayed perfectly still for a few minutes, and then I ran after the cat, my long hair streaming out from behind me. Soon I saw the cat duck underneath a low canopy of leaves, and I skidded to a stop, halting briefly before ducking underneath the canopy. Twigs and leaves stuck in my hair, but I ignored them as I caught sight of the cat again.

"Hey, wait up!" I hissed quietly. The cat stopped and meowed at me as I caught up to it. "What is it?" I asked. It meowed and looked away from me before hissing a few times. I followed the cat's gaze…

And saw a monster.

"Oh my fucking god." It was the only sentence I could form as I stumbled backwards, grabbing the cat as I did so. It was huge, and its mouth was filled with rows upon rows of huge, sharp teeth. Drool dripped onto the ground, and where it landed the ground crumbled away. I shuddered. What a vile, disgusting creature! It lumbered over to me, and I got a good look at it. Its red eyes bored into mine, and I frowned as I took in its form. It had a grotesque, misshapen body, and its claws were larger than me. "Fuck!" I yelped as it swung a massive paw at me. Pain shot through my leg as its claw just scratched my leg, and soon I began to feel as if my insides were burning. I began to feel sick and clammy.

This wasn't good.

It roared at me and swung at me again, and I rolled out of the way with the speed I was known for. I looked up at it and growled. I swayed dizzily, but gathered my energy and shot an ki blast at it. It squealed – a bloodcurdling noise – that hurt my ears. I screamed as I covered my ears, trying to block out the noise. The creature stumbled around, and nearly trod on me twice. I dashed out of the way, making sure the cat was with me as I moved. Bulma probably wouldn't appreciate it if the cat was killed or something.

"Argh!" I cried as crippling pain shot through my leg. I applied pressure to the scratch immediately and grit my teeth. The creature roared yet again, but this time I couldn't dodge as it swung its claws at me again. I had no choice. I gathered as much ki as I could, but I could feel that it wasn't enough to use some of my more powerful moves. It was, however, enough for one attack.

I never got to use that attack.

"Ka… Me… Ha… Me... HAAAAA!" I heard, and I had barely enough time to roll out of the way as a huge blue energy wave flew over my head. I looked up to see my brother standing there, breathing heavily with his hands outstretched. The monster was screeching in agony, and I saw that there was a massive hole punched through its stomach. It roared – although it sounded like a squeal – and jumped away. Kakarot ran over to me and leaned down near me, but I pushed him away.

"D-don't t-touch m-me," I said shakily. It felt as if my energy was being drained away. I just couldn't stop shaking. Suddenly I felt bile rise in my throat, and before I could stop, the contents of my stomach rushed out. I coughed and gagged.

"Vegeta!" I heard Kakarot call loudly, and a few minutes later I heard footsteps.

"Oh my god, what happened here?" Vegeta asked carefully. I felt someone pull my hair back, to keep it out of my face while I emptied my stomach. I felt like shit.

"I don't know!" Kakarot exclaimed. His voice had an edge of desperation. I'd finally stopped throwing up, but I was still shaking madly.

"I g-got s-scratched by t-that thing…" I groaned as I leaned back and turned away from my stomach contents. I felt cold, so I wrapped my arms around my torso in a desperate and futile attempt to keep warm.

"You look like you've been poisoned," Vegeta murmured, helping me to stand. I was shaky on my feet, and my leg throbbed painfully. Kakarot supported me as well, but I tried to struggle away from them.

"N-no… d-don't touch m-me… I don't n-need your h-help," I said, starting to feel drowsy. I stumbled and had to catch myself on a nearby tree. Everything was spinning. Spinning around and around and around. I began to feel extremely dizzy, and – unable to support myself anymore – I collapsed onto the ground.

"Raditz? Raditz!" I heard Kakarot call. My eyelids felt heavy as I lay on the ground, and I closed them. "No! Don't go to sleep!" Kakarot called. I felt annoyed. Why wouldn't he let me sleep?

"Go back to the house and call the ambulance," Vegeta instructed. I didn't hear a response from Kakarot, but I heard the sound of someone running. Someone touched my forehead lightly, and I shivered involuntarily. "You don't look well, and you're cold," Vegeta murmured, more to himself than to me. I heard him move then, and part of me wanted to grab his leg and force him to stay. A childish part of me, a selfish part.

I didn't want to die.


	19. Chapter 19

I felt like absolute _shit_.

Normally, I'd be exaggerating. But not this time.

I was kind of stuck, lying in a bed in a white, cold, sterile room with no entertainment. I was bored, and very, very sick. It kind of related to the incident that had resulted in an injury – a large scratch – on my thigh. I'd found out a few days after my admittance to the human hospital that I had a neurotoxin flowing through my veins. The doctors had said that, by all accounts, I shouldn't have survived this long.

The door of my hospital room opened, and I turned my head slightly to see my visitor slip into the room. I'd grown used to the familiar orange gi of my brother, and I smiled as he turned to look at me. He grinned. I noticed that his gi seemed slightly fatter at the stomach, and I had to try and smother a giggle.

"Did you smuggle food in, Kakarot?" I jokingly said, and he nodded. That silly grin never left his face as he pulled the bag out from underneath his blue undershirt and handed it to me. I tried to take it, but I couldn't lift my arm too much. After both of us remembered that, he placed the bag on my bed. "Thank you, Kakarot," I said.

"That's okay. Hospital food tastes bad," he said, poking his tongue out in disdain. I laughed. I had to agree with him. I'd already broken a spoon trying to attack the jelly. Not to mention I'd thrown the tray out of the window about ten minutes later. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, his mood deflating. I sighed. Every time he visited I had to tell him that I was still feeling crappy. He'd come to expect it.

"I'm feeling a bit better. I can stomach food now," I said, smiling sadly. He'd come to see me yesterday, too, just at lunchtime. He'd watched as I'd eaten… and coughed the food back up seconds later. I hated feeling like this, I really did. I was absolutely dependant on others at the moment. I'd been raised to be independent.

"Well, Vegeta's gonna visit today, after work," Kakarot said cheerfully. I stared at him. Vegeta _worked_? I tried to visualise him sitting at a desk doing paperwork, and all I could imagine was him throwing a skitz and flipping the table and destroying everything. I smiled, and Kakarot cocked his head to the side. "What's so funny?"

"Uh, nothing." It would be really hard to explain what I'd just seen.

"Anyway," he said as he stood up. He walked over and sat on the edge on the bed. I struggled to sit up, so I could give him room (damn my freakish height!). "No, don't strain yourself!" he urged as I managed to sit up, with great pain. I smiled at him.

"I'm… urk… fine, Kakarot. Don't worry about me," I said. He sighed.

"Look, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I've really been putting it off," he said, looking down at his hands, which he'd clasped together, and twiddled his thumbs.

"Go on," I urged, a little bit worried.

"Vegeta suggested this to me earlier – around the time you had food poisoning – but we want to train you. Just us three Saiyans," he said. I stared. What?

"What do you mean, brother?" I asked, confused.

"Well, you obviously have a lot of power now, but there are ways of increasing it," he said.

"You mean Super Saiyan," I responded angrily. He looked shocked at my anger, and I growled at him.

"Why are you angry?" he asked, not understanding. I'd never be able to achieve it, no matter how much training I did. He didn't realise, did he?

"You don't understand! No amount of training will allow me to reach such a level!" I almost yelled. Kakarot nearly fell off the bed in surprise, and I looked away from him, trying to calm myself. I didn't want to bitch at my brother; he'd taken care of me very well. That was no way to repay him.

"Why? That's how Goten and Trunks achieved it!"

"They're hybrids, Kakarot. Their human side allows them to feel emotion far more strongly than Saiyans do. That's the cause of the transformation, my brother," I said, feeling miserable. Kakarot nodded.

"I know, but… but we can help you achieve it."

"How?" I asked sceptically.

"Well, we'll traumatise you!" he said cheerfully. He sounded a little _too_ cheerful, to be honest.

"Um."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" he said, leaning close to my face. I leant away, my eyes wide.

"Kakarot, you have different views to me regarding 'fun'," I said, horrified. I blushed after realising exactly how bad that sentence sounded. Kakarot didn't appear to realise, but I knew now that he wasn't as naïve and stupid as he made out to be. "You know what? Ignore that sentence."

"Okay," he said. Crap. He _did_ understand. I sighed. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you later, brother," he said as he walked out of the door. It shut behind him, leaving me alone again. I sighed and picked up the bag he'd smuggled in for me. It contained a bottle of soda (yay!) and a block of chocolate. The chocolate was my favourite flavour, which only Vegeta could have known… or Dad. Dad knew. I shoved the food products back into the bag and shoved them in a nearby drawer. Didn't want the nurse seeing them; she'd take them for herself…

Suddenly I heard screaming down the hall, and I sat up. My leg spasmed as pain shot through it, but I ignored at as I stood and limped over to my door. I pressed the button to open it, just as Kakarot ran back in, shoved me into the room, and shut the door. He was absolutely terrified.

"Is the monster back?" I asked cautiously and immediately, thinking we were under attack. Kakarot shook his head, confusing me. "Then what is it?" I asked. I didn't understand. What was worse than that monster?

"Launch is back."

"Launch?" I asked. I didn't know this 'Launch', but he or she didn't sound terrifying. Judging from Kakarot's face, however, he or she was a very terrifying person. "Who's Launch?"

"She's a woman I met when I was younger, and training under Master Roshi," he said, swallowing his fear. I could hear gunshots now, and I felt a pang of pity for the injured and the sick.

"Wait, a woman?!" I said, shocked. Kakarot nodded. He shuddered.

"Yeah… she's currently blonde, which is bad. Do you have a feather?" he asked. That was the weirdest question I'd _ever_ been asked. How the hell was I supposed to respond to that?! I shook my head, and I saw him silently curse. "Damn!"

"Why the hell would you need a feather?" The gunshots sounded a lot closer now. Kakarot was getting more and more agitated. "Look, I know it's not my business to… Wah!" I cried as the door was busted down. It flew past me, and I quickly sidestepped. I looked towards the door to see a woman with poofy blonde hair and a red ribbon in her hair. Her green eyes looked pissed as she scanned the room. I'd never been scared of a human (Chi-Chi being the happy exception, and Eighteen was an android), but now I was. Especially when I saw she had a gun in her hands.

Bullets can't kill Saiyans, and we're generally fast enough to dodge them. But they hurt like a bitch in certain spots, and I felt as if I had a neon sign pointing to my leg, saying 'he's injured! Hit him here!' That wasn't good, especially if she picked up on my injury.

"Uh, um, hi, Launch. How are you today?" Kakarot said nervously. She looked over at him and grinned.

"Hey, didn't see ya there, Goku! Who's this brute?" she asked, motioning in my general direction with the gun.

Lovely.

"This is, uh, my brother," Kakarot said. His nervousness was very clearly visible. He was sweating profusely, and his dark eyes were looking around for something, anything, that he could use against this woman. It still didn't explain the question about the feather, however. That had been really weird.

"Brother, huh? Didn't realise ya had any more family other than that woman and your kids," she mused. She pointed the gun right at me, and immediately panic set in.

"Hey! Don't point that thing at me!" I anxiously yelled, pressing myself against the wall as she walked closer and put the stupid weapon to my throat. My leg pulsed with pain, reminding me that I was useless in this state. I didn't dare use any ki attacks, either; I had a tendency to get carried away and destroy everything.

"You better not pull any stunts, ya hear me?!" she yelled. I didn't know whether to be terrified now or just plain confused. I frowned, only for her to press the gun harder against my throat.

"Ouch! Hey, alright, I won't do anything!" I exclaimed. She was compressing my windpipe and making it hard for me to breathe. Luckily, she seemed happy with my answer, and let me go. I gingerly touched my throat, wincing where she'd pressed her gun; I could tell that it was going to bruise. Someone from this silly human hospital would see, and then they'd keep me here even longer! I didn't quite like that idea.

"How's the rest of the gan… ah…" Launch trailed off and wrinkled her nose. I saw that Kakarot had opened the window, and that dust mites were now floating around everywhere. Launch looked as if she was about to sneeze. "Ah… ah… ah-CHOO!" It felt as if the whole building shook with the power of her sneeze. Her blonde hair immediately changed to blue, and her green eyes turned to black.

Okay. This was officially weird.

"Kakarot, what just happened?" I asked as he closed the window. I saw that Launch looked confused, too. That made two of us.

"Hey Launch!" Kakarot cheerfully said. Launch looked at him and smiled warmly; a far cry from the trigger-happy vixen she'd been only moments ago. He seemed relieved.

"Hello, Goku," she said. She sounded so sweet and innocent now. I frowned and looked at the gun on the ground. What the bloody hell was wrong with humans? And was that some sort of human version of the Super Saiyan? It sure seemed like it.

"How've you been going?" he asked politely. She nodded and told him what she'd been doing. I paid them no mind and instead picked up the gun. It seemed very light to me, but something told me that they were heavy to most humans. "You better apologise to Raditz over there. You hurt him… or, well, bad Launch did," Kakarot said. Hearing my name made me look over at him, only to see that he was pointing at me. Launch looked horrified.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I just get like that when I sneeze…" she said. I nodded, accepting her apology wordlessly. She smiled apologetically, and I wondered if this woman was the same crazy woman that had threatened me moments ago. It didn't seem like it.

After a few more minutes of conversing, Launch left. Her blue hair enabled her to leave the building without anyone suspecting her. Kakarot breathed a sigh of relief.

"What the fuck is with that one?" I demanded. Kakarot shrugged.

"I don't really know. She's always been like that," he said. He sounded semi-cheerful, and I groaned and rolled my eyes. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked disdainfully at the hospital gown I was wearing. I picked at it hatefully.

"Where are my clothes? As in, my normal ones?" I asked. Kakarot turned away from me and rummaged in a nearby drawer. He pulled out the clothes I'd been attacked in, and held up my jeans. I saw that there was a huge rip in the thigh area. I took them from Kakarot and looked at them, frowning. "I can't wear these. The shirt is fine, but the pants… they're ruined," I muttered, balling up the ruined jeans up and tossing them into the bin. Kakarot nodded.

"I understand; I've got ten billion sets of gi at home. I'll go get you some more. Be back soon!" Kakarot said as he placed two fingers to his forehead and teleported away. I shook my head. I'd never get over that technique. It befuddled me how the Yardrats had ever come up with such an advanced ki technique.

Kakarot returned with a pair of navy blue jeans and handed them to me. I took them and pulled them on, leaving my hospital gown on as I did so. I pulled off the hospital gown as I grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head, only to get my hair pinned to my back by the shirt.

"Now, can we go?" I asked quietly. Kakarot nodded, ran off, and then ran back a few minutes later, telling me that he'd signed me out. We grinned evilly at each other – like we'd hatched an evil plan – and then I pushed the window open and jumped, Kakarot following closely behind.

Freedom!


	20. Chapter 20

"So you broke him out?!" Vegeta roared as Kakarot and I stood in front of him, our heads lowered shamefully. Vegeta was fuming, and everyone else was standing idly by. We were in so much trouble, and I knew_ exactly_ how much trouble we were in. I'd helped raise Vegeta, for goodness sake! His body language could tell us how much trouble we were in.

And judging from the way he was standing, I'd say we were in _big_ trouble.

"Well, yeah, he did break me out, but I didn't want to stay there any longer!" I said, hoping to get Vegeta in a better mood. That completely failed. Vegeta snarled at me, and I stumbled backwards, absolutely terrified. "Look, it's not Kakarot's fault!" I exclaimed, hoping to allow my brother to avoid getting in trouble. That didn't work either. Vegeta started to shake a bit, and I saw Kakarot's eyes widen. "What? What is it?" I asked. Kakarot shook his head.

"Vegeta's almost ready to go Super Saiyan, he's that angry," Kakarot whispered. I grimaced in terror. Shit. We both looked back towards Vegeta, only to see that he had his back turned. He was still shaking, and his hands were balled into fists, but he seemed to be trying to calm himself down. "Vegeta?" Kakarot asked, but before he could continue Vegeta raised a hand – a gesture for my little brother to be silent.

"I do not want to talk about this. Raditz, tomorrow morning you will be training with Kakarot and me," he said carefully, before walking out of the room. I frowned sadly and sighed, and I saw Bulma shook her head. She looked at me and gave me a half-smile.

"Sorry. Vegeta gets like this sometimes," she said. I knew she wasn't trying to make excuses for him, so I waved it off.

"Yeah, I know. I was his comrade for many years, remember?" I said. Bulma looked a little derpy for a minute, and then remembered. She nodded, and when everyone didn't understand, she explained to them what I'd told them at Kame House during my short first time on Earth… and then what Piccolo had told them from what I'd told him with my dying breaths. "He'll settle down soon," I assured everyone.

"For this planet's sake, I hope so," Eighteen said ominously, and hugged her daughter closer to her. I noticed that everyone looked solemn and wary. I shook my head and walked towards the door.

"What are you going to do?" Piccolo asked, eyeing me carefully. I turned to face him, and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Trust me just this once, and don't worry about a thing," I said as I lowered my arm and walked out. I felt everyone's eyes boring into my back, but I gave it no mind as I followed Vegeta's trail. I found him just about to enter the gravity room that he'd blown up (and had apparently been fixed). He turned to face me as I approached. "C'mon. You need to chill. No training," I said. For a minute, I thought he wasn't going to listen. He smiled (sort of) and closed the door.

"What do you propose, Raditz?" he asked sceptically.

"Let's go spar outside," I said nonchalantly. His eyes bugged out of his head; it was a wonder they didn't fall out. However, he didn't say anything and simply followed me out to the backyard. Using a Kiai, I cleared any obstacles that might have impeded with our little sparring match. I took up a fighting stance and faced Vegeta, and he followed my example.

"So you didn't want to wait until the morning to fight me?" Vegeta asked, smirking. I shook my head.

"No. That's not the reason, and you know it."

"Who sent you then?" Vegeta asked, his smirk molding into a scowl. I shook my head.

"Nobody. I'm here on my own free will. Now, let's fight. Just think about the fight; let your emotions go," I said. I sounded like my training instructor, but it worked on Vegeta. He was younger than me by thirteen years, yet he always took my advice. After all, I had fought in the Saiyan-Tuffle War. Anyone who had knew of the horrors we'd faced, especially the young ones.

Vegeta flew towards me and swung his fist at me, but I easily dodged due to the sloppiness of the move. I laughed as I slammed my elbow into his back, knocking him to the ground. He got up almost instantly and performed a low kick, taking me by surprise and knocking me onto my back.

"Ouch," I muttered as I stood and rubbed the lower segment of my back. I dodged a flying kick from Vegeta and slammed my fist into his stomach. He collapsed over my arm and I tossed him onto the ground. "Get up, Vegeta. I know you're more tolerant to injury than that," I said as I jumped backwards. Vegeta stood up, and I saw blood run down his chin. He wiped it off with a gloved hand and looked down at it. I hoped to get him infuriated enough so that he would attack me again, and my ploy worked as Vegeta jumped for me. Again, the move was sloppy, and I easily managed to dodge. I pressed my foot to his back and sent a Kiai through him, making him fly into the ground a few metres away. I scoffed. "Vegeta, you've always been able to defeat me in a fight. Just because I had my power unlocked doesn't mean I should be stronger than you," I scowled. It was enough to make Vegeta's blood boil, I knew that much. He rushed for me again, but this time the move was planned. I didn't have time to dodge as his fist made contact with my cheek. "Argh!" I screamed as I felt bones break. I fell backwards onto my ass and clutched my cheek.

"Raditz?" Vegeta asked carefully. I looked up at him and tried to smile, but my cheek was too painful. I stood and took my fighting stance again. "You're serious? You're going to fight with a broken cheekbone?"

"We've sparred with worse injuries. Hell, didn't Nappa once break his sternum and he still sparred with you?" I asked. Vegeta paused to consider this, and then nodded.

"True," he said as he charged up a ki blast and fired it at me. I quickly deflected it into the sky and retaliated with one of my own. I charged at Vegeta and caught him by surprise, allowing me to punch him in the chin. He stumbled backwards and, when he recovered, hit me in the arm with a very swift and very hard blow. I was going to have a bruise there tomorrow.

Our fight continued on until we dropped due to exhaustion. We were covered in bruises, welts, ki burns, scratches and, of course, blood. But we were happy. Vegeta had been an impressive foe when he'd been a child, and he'd surpassed me at a very early age. He'd only grown more and more impressive as he aged, like a fine wine.

"Wow… You had a lot of hidden power inside of you, Raditz," Vegeta gasped, and I nodded.

"It's nothing compared to your natural strength," I said. Vegeta shook his head, completely rejecting what I'd said.

"Not true, Raditz. That was natural strength you showed. It was just hidden from you," he argued. I shook my head, which started an argument between us. We argued for a while… until Vegeta asked me about my (non-existant) love life. I froze.

"That's personal!" I said, utterly shocked. Vegeta simply prodded me in the shoulder and made me tell him anyway. "Honestly, I don't really have one," I muttered, blushing and looking down at my feet. This was awkward.

"Meet a girl here then!"

"No way! Are you kidding?" I asked, genuinely surprised he'd suggested that. When he shook his head, I frowned and looked down at my feet. Vegeta had suggested to me that I find a girl on Earth. What the hell had I gotten into? I already had a girlfriend who'd somehow put up with my insanity (it was a wonder she had). It was a wonder Nappa and Vegeta had managed to tolerate me! "Look, I don't think that's a good idea, okay?" I said, my voice suddenly turning vengeful and bitter. I had no idea why, but I felt like ripping someone limb from limb all of a sudden.

"Raditz, are you okay?" Vegeta asked cautiously.

"Yeah… But don't mention this again, okay? I know I can't order you to do squat, but I don't want Kakarot knowing, okay?" I said, still in that cold, vengeful tone. Vegeta mutely nodded and stood.

"Come inside soon," was all he said as he went inside. I nodded as he closed the door and sat on my lonesome. Something about Vegeta's comment about me meeting a girl bothered me. I'd never had a girlfriend, true… but Vegeta had no right to delve into my personal life. He didn't need to know about that.

There were just some secrets I couldn't tell anyone.

Not even my brother.


	21. Chapter 21

"Uncle Raditz, come inside! You'll catch a cold!" Gohan yelled as he leaned out the back door of the Capsule Corp. residence, making sure he didn't lean out too far lest he get wet. Like before, I ignored him and continued my training. I could sense that my oldest nephew was getting more and more irritated as I continually ignored him. "I know you can hear me!" he yelled, and I rolled my eyes, finally giving in. I turned to look at him. In this rain, I knew he wouldn't be able to tell I'd been crying. Vegeta's comment about me getting a girlfriend had stung, because I knew that it was impossible.

"Yes, Gohan?" I asked. He sighed and walked out, not caring if he got drenched. "I won't catch a cold. And I don't feel like being around people," I said. Gohan sighed.

"Uncle, please! You're absolutely soaked!" he exclaimed, tugging on the front of my shirt. I frowned and flicked his hand away. That didn't stop him. Persistently, he grabbed my arm and – quite literally – started dragging me towards the house. I knew there wasn't really much point in struggling, but that didn't stop me. It helped that I was a lot stronger now, so I was able to break free of my nephew's grasp.

It didn't help me to get away, however. He still caught me and continued dragging me towards the house. I huffed in annoyance and crossed my arms as my feet dragged across the ground and tore up the lawn. He pushed the door open and tossed me inside. I don't think he meant to throw me as hard as he did, because I slammed headfirst into the wall. Saiyans don't really take well to head trauma.

"YOWCH!" I screamed, clutching the top of my head. I saw Vegeta poke his head out of a nearby room, and Kakarot walked out of another. Gohan looked panicked as he leaned down near me. I looked up at him, teary-eyed. "Why'd you go and do that?! That hurt!" I exclaimed. Gohan apologised over and over as I eventually managed to stand. I rubbed the top of my head gingerly, and when I pulled my hand down I saw a dark, slick substance on the tips of my fingers. "I'm… bleeding…?" I murmured, my shock not really allowing me to register my pain.

"Who's bleeding?" I heard Piccolo say, and I looked up to see him standing behind Gohan. I saw that everyone had gathered, and I saw that Chi-Chi was looking at my bloodied hand. Vegeta walked over and forced me to kneel so he could have a look.

"Shit, Raditz," he murmured as blood came away on his glove. I stared, shocked. It had been a while – years – since I'd seen my own blood. Not to mention that it was in my hair, but that would have to wait. I started to feel as if pressure was building up in my skull, and I rubbed my temple. Vegeta picked up on my movement. "Are you alright?"

"Headache… I think," I murmured, standing. I tried to turn on my heel, but dizziness overwhelmed me and I stumbled instead. God I was a klutz sometimes. Kakarot caught my arm to steady me, and I shook my head wildly. "I'm good," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. I stood, shaking Kakarot off, and sighed. "I was probably better off dead," I said. I forgot that people could hear me.

"Why do you say that, Raditz?" Vegeta asked. I looked up at him.

"Trouble seems to follow me like a lost puppy. Haven't you noticed?" I said. I think I sounded a bit insane, because Vegeta's face changed. "You know what? Never mind."

"I think you need to go to sleep. You seem tired," Piccolo said, and I turned to face him. He locked eyes briefly, before I turned wordlessly and headed to my room. However, a plan took root in my mind. I stopped walking and looked behind me, at the room I'd walked out of. I couldn't bear it anymore. I didn't really want to do this, but I didn't want any of them to die because of me. I turned away and balled my fists.

I broke into a run as I headed towards my room. I'd made my decision. I couldn't stay here any longer. While they'd all been hospitable towards me, I couldn't stay any more. I ran into my room and grabbed a nearby bag. I shoved what I could in there and hastily scrawled a note, giving no clues to my whereabouts. Anyway, they'd be able to sense me. They'd come for me and demand to know why I'd left. And I'd tell them. But until that day came, I would keep looking for that creature.

The creature that cut my leg open and put me in hospital.

Hopefully I'd be able to find that black haired man who'd called Eighteen his sister. Maybe then I'd get some answers as to why he'd been here the day I'd made the isolation chamber.

I opened the window and jumped onto the windowsill, slinging the bag on my shoulders as I did so. I looked towards my door, and sighed once before jumping. I landed on the grass with a soft _thump_, and ran as fast as I could. I stopped once to look behind me, but nobody seemed to have noticed that I'd left… yet. I supressed my power to a low five, and then continued to run.

I ran through the busy streets, pushing people out of my way when I could. Some people seemed to sense that I wanted out, and simply moved out of my way. I saw someone following my movements, and I stopped briefly, just to look at them with a cold glare. They seemed to notice that they'd been spotted, and quickly averted their gaze. I continued running. There had to be a way out.

Finally I reached the edge of the city, and without thinking I ran onto a busy road, not caring if people crashed. I stumbled as a truck honked its horn at me, but simply flipped the bird to it as it passed. It didn't stop, even though the driver looked absolutely mortified. I didn't care.

Soon, I was away from busy streets and people, and I slowed my pace. I'd always preferred the emptiness of fields and forests, and I exhaled deeply as I walked down a beaten path. It seemed as if a person had walked this way very recently, and I looked around cautiously as I slowed my steps. I didn't feel like running into anyone but that black haired man. I wanted to ask him something.

Like how the hell he'd broken in without any of us detecting him.

Surely he had to have an energy signal. That meant that Kakarot or someone would have been able to sense him… Unless he was dead. Then there was no energy to sense. But when I'd seen him, he'd been very much alive. I couldn't fathom how any of this was possible as I walked. I came to a halt as I saw a little wooden shack, just off the path. I frowned. This had to be the place where the person had come. I sniffed the air. Thanks to my Saiyan nose, I was able to pick up traces of scents that shouldn't really be in a forest. Gunpowder. Metal. I even smelt human, but it smelt wrong. I wrinkled my nose as I walked towards the cottage. As I hopped up to the door, I stopped and frowned. Then I knocked. It wasn't a pissy 'ooh, I'm so scared!' knock, either. Honestly, whoever was inside probably thought I was trying to beat the door down or something.

The door opened then, and I wasn't entirely surprised when a black haired man with pale blue eyes looked up at me. He smiled a dangerous half smile, but I was in no mood for his games.

"Well, what brings you here?" he asked, smirking. I growled.

"I want to know something. That day you broke in to Capsule Corporation. How is it that not even my brother sensed you?" I hissed through gritted teeth. He stared at me as if I was stupid. Anger coursed through me. "I. Want. An. Answer," I growled. The Eighteen look-alike flinched and took a step back. I growled again, this time taking a step forward. This guy should've known not to mess with an angry Saiyan…

"I don't have an energy level," he said simply, after a few moments. I stopped. The only way that was possible was if he was dead!

"You're lying to me." It was an automatic reaction, based off what I'd been tod my entire life. _Those with an energy signal are living. Those without are dead._

"I'm not. I'm an android, just like Eighteen," he said, seemingly confused that I didn't know. I took a few steps back, utterly horrified. An android? Eighteen and this guy? But androids couldn't have children… and Eighteen had a happy healthy daughter!

"Wha… How… Huh?" I stuttered, confused. Eighteen's brother laughed.

"My name is Seventeen. Your name is… Raditz, correct?" he asked, after squinting at me. All I could do was mutely nod my head. I was terribly shocked.

"I also want to ask you if you've seen a hideous, grotesque-looking monster with huge teeth and claws around. I'm looking for it," I said when I could finally speak. Seventeen looked at me with his pale, icy eyes, and I shuddered. He shook his head and turned from me. For a minute, I thought he wasn't going to answer me. Then he turned his head ever so slightly, so I could just see one of icy eyes looking at me.

"Don't waste your life. Go home."

I felt like laughing. Go home? I didn't have a home. My entire planet had been destroyed, and I'd just run away from the only place that I had on this planet.

"I don't really have anything better to do. I don't have a home," I explained. Seventeen sighed and walked inside his house, but not before giving me one piece of advice.

"Prepare to die painfully, then."


	22. Chapter 22

I kept replaying Seventeen's words as I walked through the forest. The farther I got from the tiny little cottage, the more I thought about his words and their attachment to the creature. _Prepare to die painfully_. Helpful advice, but I didn't really need it. I'd walked into this, knowing I would die. But I just didn't want Kakarot to risk his life; he had a family to go back to. I didn't. The only close family I had was Dad, and to go back to him I would have to die.

I stopped walking as I heard the sound of a waterfall crashing on rocks. Until then, I hadn't realised how thirsty I was getting, and I definitely needed something to eat soon. Otherwise I would drop from hunger, and unless someone found me I'd starve to death slowly, my muscles burning away slowly just to provide me with enough energy… I shuddered and shook my head. No. I wouldn't think like that.

I kept walking forward, placing one foot in front of the other carefully. It didn't help. I still tripped over something and smashed my chin on a rock. I heard a noise that sounded like laughter, but paid no attention to it as I stood and dusted myself off. I saw blood on the dirt, and when I touched my chin I discovered why. I must have knocked a tooth loose or something. Dizzily I stumbled forward. Lack of food was beginning to take its toll on me. Dammit. I needed to eat something soon.

Luckily, I found some apples, and while I wasn't too fond of apples I was grateful that I'd found some food. I sat down next to them and took a huge bite of one, pulling a face when I realised it was sour. I'd never taken well to sour food.

"What are you doing, Raditz?" I asked myself. "You were safe there," I murmured, looking at the half-eaten apple and thinking about Capsule Corp. I sighed as I ate the rest of my little stash, and stood. It hadn't been enough to satisfy me, but I would have to live with it until I found more food. I walked towards the sound of the waterfall, certain I would be alright for a bit if I found it.

Fate, it seemed, had it in for me today.

I walked out of two trees, not watching where I was going. I had no idea that the forest was on the top of a cliff, and as I walked to the edge of the cliff it started to crumble. I looked down a fraction of a second before the bluff I was standing on shattered. I fell fast, and at that moment I forgot I could fly. I was speeding towards a bunch of sharp rocks, and I knew that if I hit my head on one of those I'd either die or end up like my brother.

Suddenly I halted. I stared at the rocks, only metres away from my nose, and then looked up. I was attached to a rather thick tree branch, and suspended around the branch was my newly-regrown tail. I felt happy that it was back as I used it to swing to the branch. As I stood on the branch – being Saiyan, I was monkey-like – I looked up.

"Oh my… what a drop," I murmured to myself. Then I grinned. "Oh well," I said as I used my ki to fly up and land safely on the non-broken part of the bluff. Suddenly I saw a small half-hole in the part of the bluff where I was standing. It was in a spot that could have compromised the stability of the bluff.

Which, I realised, was exactly what had happened.

Something or someone was following me. I whipped around, my dark eyes scanning everything. I cursed at not having a scouter, but then I felt a tickle of something slightly to my right. I swung around, my fist outstretched, and made contact with something. In shock, I stood there like a total dumbass as my would-be attacker felt to the ground clutching their nose. After a few more moments, I recognised my assailant.

"Vegeta?"

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" he complained as he stood and realigned his nose. My hand fell as I straightened, and I shrugged.

"You attacked me," I said. He growled at me, and then sighed. I looked him up and down. He was really not in the attire for a fight; who wore a red singlet and skinny jeans into a battle? But, then again, he was Saiyan. We tended to wear whatever we wanted into fights. Hell, I'd seen Tora fight in his underwear once. But that had been a really desperate measure.

"I wasn't trying to attack you, I was trying to take you by surprise," Vegeta said, poking his tongue out at me. I grinned.

"Try harder next time," I teased. Vegeta growled again. Then I saw his anger melt away and surprise take its place.

"Hey, how'd you know I was there?" he asked curiously. Good question. I frowned as I scratched my head. I didn't actually know. I'd just had a feeling that something was there. When I told him this, he frowned. "You must have – very briefly – sensed my energy," he said, as way of explanation. I shook my head.

"How?"

"I don't know. You must be learning. And I say keep learning. You'll need it now that your scouter's gone," he said. I felt that weird tickle as Vegeta rose into the air and flew off. The tickle vanished a few minutes later, but I'd definitely felt his power. I looked down at my palm, only to see that there was a bit of blood dripping out of a small cut. It was right where one of my fingernails had pressed. It didn't hurt, strangely enough, but my knuckles did from punching Vegeta in the jaw. Hang on, why had Vegeta tracked me dow, but not taken me back? It didn't make sense that he'd just flown off for no reason. He had to have a reason. He _always_ had a reason. Vegeta didn't do things without a reason. He hadn't even followed Frieza for so long without a reason.

"How do I keep learning to sense ki?" I murmured to myself. I felt another tickle, to my left this time, and turned around to see a human pointing a gun at me. Great. Just what I needed. Suddenly I went cold as I took in the human's features. Blonde poofy hair and a red ribbon. Sharp green eyes. "Oh shit!" I yelled as I jumped out of the way of a round of bullets. I dodged as she continually fired at me. I would not attack her. If I could get her to sneeze, then it'd be alright. But there was nothing around that I could use, other than the wind. I could get her own hair to tickle her nose. That may work, but there wasn't much wind today.

"Trying something funny, are ya?" Launch yelled as she reloaded and pointed the gun at me again. I had no choice. I had to try and stop her.

"Saturday Crush!" I roared as a pink energy sphere appeared in my hand. I saw her eyes widen as I threw it slightly to her left. She jumped out of the way, thankfully, and the explosion caused a gust of wind that did exactly what I wanted it to. The whole mountain seemed to shake as she sneezed, and I covered my eyes with my forearm. When I dropped my arm, I saw the sweet, innocent form of Launch. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hi there!" she said cheerfully. Weird little human.

"Um… hi?" I said carefully. She'd dropped the gun when she'd sneezed, and I walked over and picked it up. "Here. This is yours," I said, holding it out to her. She simply looked at it and shook her head.

"I would never have something like this," she said, sweetly. I frowned. "You can keep it."

"Thanks… but I have no need for something like this…" I sighed as I trailed off and clicked the gun's safety on. The weapon would come in handy… probably if I needed to bludgeon someone to death.

"Bye bye!" Launch said cheerfully as I saw her get on a (one-wheeled?) bike and drive off. I stood there stupidly. Humans were so bizarre! How in the world had Vegeta managed to put up with these weak little oddballs for so long? I shrugged and flew over the waterfall, getting splashed as I flew closer than I should have. I liked waterfalls. Something about them was majestic and beautiful. I sighed and flew over the gap. I landed on the other side and looked around. This neck of the woods seemed a bit dark and ominous, and I shuddered as I walked towards it.

It was much colder than the other part of the forest, and I shivered as I walked further and further. There was no sunlight shining through the leaves, and often I found myself cold and shivering uncontrollably. I pulled as much of my hair as I could over my arms, and while it helped me to retain a bit of heat, it didn't really help too much. It was still very, very cold. I rubbed my arms a bit, but it didn't help. The colder it got, the less heat I was able to retain. I was going to catch hypothermia this way.

"W-why is it so c-cold?" I whispered through chattering teeth. I could feel myself freezing. I collapsed onto my knees and hugged my torso tightly. "I'm f-freezing…" I said, my voice shaking. I stood and stumbled forward, but it did me no good as I fell yet again. I sneezed a few times, before managing to stand yet again. "C'mon, Raditz, you've gotta be strong," I muttered to myself, trying to force myself to continue my painful trek.

It was no good. I just couldn't move. I was too cold. I collapsed onto the ground again. I felt as if my entire body was shutting down. I reached a hand out, trying to drag myself forward, but it was like I had no strength left. My arm collapsed, and I just lay there unmoving. My shivering was beginning to cease, but I didn't feel any warmer. This was the onset of severe hypothermia.

"Raditz!" I heard someone cry, but I didn't pay any attention to it. It had sounded like my little brother. Great. On top of severe hypothermia, I was hallucinating. But then I heard it again, a lot closer this time. "Raditz, please don't close your eyes. I'm coming!"

"Whu… Kaka… rot?" I whispered as I saw a pair of familiar boots land near my head.

"Raditz, I'm glad I caught up to you in time. You could have died!" Kakarot's cheerful voice was not cheerful; in fact, it was far from it. He seemed so worried and nervous.

"Why… are… you… here…?" I asked, my voice raspy. I coughed. There was absolutely no strength left in any of my muscle fibres.

"I detected your diminishing life force," he said sadly. I smiled and coughed again. I saw him rummaging around in a pouch tied to his belt, and then I felt something in my mouth. My body was beginning to go numb, and I didn't have the strength to chew. Kakarot helped me by pinching my throat lightly, and I swallowed whatever it was in my mouth. I felt my strength beginning to return, and I sat up groggily. I looked up to see Kakarot standing near me.

"Thank you… but I would have liked it more if you'd stayed at Capsule Corp.," I said. Kakarot looked shocked as I stood up. He stood too and looked up at me.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding very hurt and confused. I grabbed his shoulders.

"Kakarot, listen to me. Go home. Let me handle this," I said without giving any clues onto what I was doing. He looked so small and vulnerable.

"Let you handle… what?"

"Please don't ask. Don't worry about me. Just go home and keep your family safe," I begged. Kakarot looked like he was not going to listen to me for a few minutes, and then he sighed. I let him go.

"Raditz… please come back alive," Kakarot said as he flew off. I watched him go, wordlessly. How could I possibly tell him that I would definitely die in this new fight? I shook my head as he flew further than my eyes could follow, and continued walking. My shivering had stopped altogether, but I knew that I would be alright. Kakarot had given me the little pouch of Senzu beans, and I frowned as I put them gently in my bag.

I sighed as I continued walking with my newfound strength. I still had a while to go before I got out of this forest, but apparently I had enough Senzu beans to feed an army. I knew I'd be fine. At least, I'd be fine until I found that hideous creature again. And then the real test would begin. I knew I would be fighting a life-or-death battle.

But which one of us would live?


	23. Chapter 23

I looked up at the warm sunlight gratefully as I walked. It had been a while since I'd left that cold forest, and occasionally a cold wind still blew. But it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle anymore. I'd begun to grow immune to the cold, but I was still a long way off from being able to stand still in the middle of a blizzard.

"Wow, look at these crystals… They're so pretty," I murmured to myself as I picked up a crystal. It seemed to glow in the sun. I noticed that there were quite a lot around, and I frowned as I saw a poor-looking village. "Strange. These would sell for a lot, even on the universal market. So why don't they sell them down there?" I wondered. I frowned as I dropped the crystal on the ground. It didn't shatter, and I continued to walk. I'd long since abandoned my shoes, and the grass felt cool on my bare feet. Suddenly I saw a glow in the mountains, and that odd tickle came back to me, only a lot stronger now. It was tremendous. "If there is anything there, I better go look. It could be that creature," I muttered to myself as I flew off, towards the glowing spot.

I landed as I saw a large crater with a large frozen lake in it. There seemed to be a massive hole in the ice, and I saw a rather broken Attack Ball nearby. I frowned as I jumped down to it, and took out something I hadn't had to use in a long time. It was a device used for registering Attack Balls, and using it I would be able to see who this one belonged to. I placed the device in the computer and flicked a switch. The Attack Ball's computer whirred to life, but it sounded very unhealthy. It did, however, come through. When it was finished, I pulled the device out and checked the registration.

"Broly…?" I said, confused. I knew that name. It was my little brother's crib mate, the one whom Kakarot had kept up all night, what with his constant crying. I also knew that Broly had been born with a very abnormal power level – ten thousand, close to the king's level – that had been a bit of a worry for the Saiyans. King Vegeta had ordered Broly dead… "So how'd you survive, Broly?" I asked the empty skies. I knew I wouldn't get an answer as I stood.

The tickling sensation came back again, and I jumped to my right as a huge claw swung at me. I dodged it and fired a ki blast. I definitely hit something not human, because no human could have screeched that loud. It hurt my ears to hear it. I fired another ki blast, only for it to be deflected right back at me. I smacked it into the air, and it exploded as I dodged a blow from the creature's tail. This was insane! I hadn't expected it to find me this easily. It swung at me again, but I grabbed its huge hand with my two and stopped it from hitting me. It required some effort just to keep the bastard from hurting me!

"Ah!" I yelled as I rolled out of the way, just as it fired something from its hand. I threw another ki blast at it, and this time I hit it. It screeched again – what a god awful noise! – as it stumbled backwards, shaking its head maniacally. I stopped as I stared. Had I blinded it?

Suddenly I saw it begin to charge up an energy attack, and I prepared to deflect it. As it fired, I saw that it had taken a ball-like shape. Actually, it looked like… it looked like…

"That's Frieza's Death Ball!" I screamed as it threw the energy ball at me. I caught the ball, knowing that if it hit the Earth, the whole planet would blow. I started getting pushed backwards by the sheer energy of the ball. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to hold it off, but I was getting nowhere. I was going to get killed if I kept this up… and I wouldn't be the only one. Everyone on this space rock would die. "N-n-no! I won't let that happen!" I grunted as I willed myself to force the ball back to the creature. I had to throw it back! "Nnnngh… YAH!" I roared as I managed to push it back. The monster wasn't expecting me to have enough power to throw the ball back. It screeched as it moved out of the way, and the ball flew past its head into the vast recesses of space. I hoped it didn't hit an inhabited planet.

"Heh… Heheh… Heheheheh!" it laughed. My eyes widened as it began to laugh maniacally. I floated into the air to be at eye level with it. My long hair blew in the wind, and I narrowed my eyes. The creature looked rather hungrily at me. It opened its mouth, revealing its monstrous teeth again. Drool started to drip down its chin, and I flinched. How gross.

"I don't taste too good. Just warning you," I said as it rushed for me, jaws gaping and paws outstretched. I flew above it and kicked it in the nose. It squealed as it fell to the ground, but I stayed in the air. I knew it wasn't finished off. It flew back up and swung at me. I dodged and tried to kick it, but it anticipated my attack and head-butted me. Since its head was larger than me, I smashed into its forehead. No pain I'd ever experienced could have come close. It felt like all my bones were broken. "Urk…"

"You think you can beat me, Ssssssssaiyan?" it hissed. I looked up at it. It could speak?! And how'd it know about the Saiyans? Unless…

"I think I recognise you," I growled. Its mouth appeared to form a smile, and I shuddered.

"Yessssssssssssssssss… I recognissssssssssssssssssssssse you, too… You were with the big one… Although it ssssssssseemsssssssssssss you are bigger now…" it said. Its long tongue ran over its lips, and I growled. I couldn't be angrier than now. I remembered this creature. I even remembered what it had done to Dad and I. There was no way either of us could forget. Dad had been lucky to survive with most of his face intact.

This was the creature that had given Dad his scar.


	24. Chapter 24

_"Hey kid, you wanna come with me and the team on a mission?" Dad asked as I finished my homework. I looked up and frowned at him. What did he mean? He never really liked me skipping school, and he'd said that he never wanted me to come with him because he'd just worry his ass off all the time._

_"What do you mean?" I asked, dumbfounded. Dad laughed as he stood and walked over to me. He sat down on the chair next to me, and I frowned at him. "Dad, I can't!" I said._

_"Sure you can, kid. You're sixteen," he said cheerfully. I shook my head._

_"That doesn't mean squat, Dad. And I've been on a few missions already," I said, growing weary already. Dad looked a bit deflated. "Plus, you have bigger things to worry about than me. You won't watch yourself if I'm there," I pointed out. Dad looked defeated now._

_"Oh come on, Raditz! I have to stop worrying sometime; you're practically an adult now! And besides, you have to have a least one mission with a team," he said. I frowned. There was no winning with this man. It was ridiculous. He always had a way with me, and I shook my head._

_"Fine. I'll come with you. When are we leaving?" I asked, thinking we'd be leaving tomorrow or something. Dad's smile said otherwise. I paled. "Now?" I guessed. He nodded, and I went cold. Oh no. What had I gotten myself into?_

_"Go change into armour. And make sure you have your scouter," he called as I walked into my room to go change. I picked up my armour and tapped it lightly before stretching it. It seemed to be in working order… I shrugged as I changed from my school clothes to a black bodysuit and put my armour over it. I grabbed my scouter from nearby and put it on. For a minute, I was considering tying my hair back, but I didn't as I walked out. Dad looked up and his eyes bugged out of his head._

_"What?" I asked. Dad shook his head and refused to answer. Fine by me._

_Dad led me to one of the many loading bays on the planet. I saw Tora, Shugesh, Borgos and Fasha standing there. I'd been used to the team of five since I was young, yet I still felt a pang of regret when I looked at Fasha. She had to hate being in a team of all guys sometimes, she really did._

_"Hey guys," Dad said as we walked over to them. I saw Fasha look over at me and grin. Tora looked sharply at him, and Shugesh and Borgos looked at each other. I saw Borgos point at me, and Shugesh shrugged._

_"Hey kid," Fasha said to me as Tora started bitching at Dad for even _thinking_ of bringing me along. I nodded, acknowledging her. We looked over as Dad started arguing, trying to prove that I was a good asset to their team. I rolled my eyes, and accidently I looked over at Dad's Attack Ball. I looked back at him._

_"Hey, Dad! I hope you don't intend to go anywhere!" I called. The whole team looked at me, and I pointed at the Attack Ball. He looked over and panicked. I put my hands on my hips and sighed. "Honestly, you have to take better care of those! They're not unbreakable!" I said as I walked over. Dad looked dejected. I knew why, too. If he couldn't go on this mission, the team wouldn't get paid. I felt sorry that Dad had to fend for me. Dad himself was fine – the man could eat _anything_ – but I was still young._

_"BARDOCK!" the team complained as one. I leaned down near the Attack Ball._

_"Should be easy to fix," I muttered to myself. Tora looked over at me._

_"What was that, kid?" he asked. I stood up and looked over at him._

_"It should be easy enough to fix. It's not that bad… well, not here, anyway. If you go into space in this thing, you'll die pretty soon," I said. Dad looked panicked. Fasha looked bewildered. "I need a screwdriver," I muttered to myself, walking over to a panel in the wall. I pressed a button and a drawer popped out. I was tall enough to see, and I pulled out what I was looking for._

_"How'd you know that was there?" Shugesh asked, shocked. I shrugged._

_"Nappa showed me," I said simply. Dad stared at me._

_"General… Nappa?"_

_"Duh. Who else is named 'Nappa' on this planet?" I said as I walked back over to Dad's Attack Ball. I unscrewed the broken panel and threw it to the side. Then I stood and grabbed a new one. I had to make sure it was the correct panel first, and I was relieved that it was. I screwed the new panel back on, and then tapped it a few times to make sure. "There, all done," I said cheerfully. Dad and his team stared at each other._

_"Raditz… how'd you… were you even allowed…" Dad trailed off as I nodded._

_"Can we just go?" I asked. Dad and his team mutely nodded, but before I could go to my Attack Ball Dad grabbed my shoulder._

_"Have you been officially assigned an Attack Ball?" he asked. I nodded and pointed to where it was. He nodded and let me go. I walked over to my Attack Ball and checked it for any holes before sitting in the seat. I frowned as I pressed a few buttons and calibrated it to Dad's, so I wouldn't get lost. His face appeared on a little screen just above the Attack Ball's computer. "Wow, that was quick!" he said, seemingly incredulous. I only nodded. He told me the co-ordinates and I quickly plotted them._

_"Ready to go," I said. Dad nodded, and his face steeled. The six Attack Balls floated into the sky, and before you could say 'Go!' they shot off. I was used to the speed, and I settled into a stasis as we flew. Dad's team followed my example, and soon we were shooting off into the unknown, to a small planet only a few thousand light years to the north of Planet Vegeta._

_"Dad…?" I murmured as I opened my eyes a few hours later. I was sitting in my Attack Ball, yet it didn't feel like I was moving. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as the Attack Ball's hatch opened. There was nothing but static coming from my scouter, and I began to grow worried. There were no other Attack Balls with mine. I saw a blackened mark on the Attack Ball's metal exterior, and I frowned as I touched it gingerly. It was still rather warm. I checked the computer and typed in a command code. Data came up, and I felt more and more alone as I realised that I was _way_ off course. I wasn't even north of Planet Vegeta. I'd somehow been pushed to the east of the planet. "Oh shit…" I murmured as I fiddled with the scouter, trying to patch communications to my father. No dice. It didn't appear to be working…_

_I decided to go exploring for a bit, and left the Attack Ball. I grabbed the remote and shoved it down my armour as I trekked towards a rocky bluff._

_"Wah!" I cried as I slipped and fell. I tumbled down a sand dune and slammed into the ground, jarring my chin. I sat up and rubbed it gingerly… only to see a shadow towering over me. "Ah!" I cried as I rolled out of the way of its huge claws. It jumped after me as I ran through the twisting sand dunes. It wasn't easy to avoid it, especially since it seemed adept at running on sand, whereas I wasn't. "Take this!" I yelled as I threw a ki blast at it. The creature simply deflected my attack, and I stumbled and fell, shocked. "No… That can't be!" I whispered as I looked up at it._

_"Fresssssssssssssssssssssssssssh meat…" it hissed. Drool landed in giant puddles near me, and I watched in horror as they made a fair sized hole in the ground. Just what I needed. Acidic drool. I rolled out of the way again as its tongue lashed out at me, and kicked it as it tried to stomp on me. It did absolutely nothing._

_"Fuck!" I screamed as I fired another energy blast at it, but it didn't do a thing. It didn't even scratch it! Suddenly a ki blast hit the creature from above, and I heard a godforsaken noise that made me have to cover my ears. I looked up to see a man floating above me, and I saw four other people land next to me. They all seemed angry, especially Dad. I was happy to see him, but worried at the same time. "Be careful," I warned in a small voice. Dad looked back at me briefly… "Dad, look out!" I screamed just as the creature lunged for him. He turned his face to look at the creature…_

_"Bardock!" Tora yelled as I saw the creature strike Dad on the face. Blood splashed onto the sand as Dad fell to the ground. His body seemed to be writhing on its own, and I ran over as Dad's team attacked the creature. I placed my ear to Dad's chest to hear his heart beating very erratically. I looked up to see Tora kick the creature in the eye. It screeched and jumped away. Then they all ran over. I was frantically trying to wake Dad up. Tora grabbed my shoulder. "Fasha, Shugesh, Borgos, get Bardock back to the planet. I'll try to calm Raditz," he said. I wondered why he said that. I could hear a strange noise, and for some reason everything seemed to be shaking. I saw Fasha look at me._

_"Maybe you should slap him," she said. Tora shot her a harsh look._

_"No. I'll calm him some other way," he growled and I realised that I was in hysterics. Fasha shrugged as Borgos picked Dad's still twitching body up. They left, and Tora made me sit down. He knelt down in front of me. "Raditz, can you hear me?" he asked. I nodded. He sighed. "You need to calm down, okay? I know seeing your dad get hurt is a good reason to go hysterical and cry, but he's gonna be okay," he said. I nodded and took a few deep breaths._

_"What was that?" I asked when I could speak. Tora shrugged as we stood and walked slowly back to the last two Attack Balls._

_"I don't know, kid. Whatever it is, it's not dead."_


	25. Chapter 25

"You won't esssssssssssscape me thissssssssssssss time!" the creature hissed as it jumped for me, but I slammed my elbow into its head, forcing it to stop. It jumped backwards and scowled at me. Anger was running wildly through my veins.

"I was a lot weaker then!" I yelled as I kicked it away from me. It growled, not liking the fact that I was resisting it. It swung out at me, but I simply jumped over its claws and kicked one of them sharply, snapping it in half. It screeched even louder than it had earlier. Blood gushed out of the stump, and I picked up the claw's point, grinning like a madman. The monster looked down at me and roared in my face. I grabbed my nose in disgust. "Two words: breath, mints," I said. The smell of the creature's breath was enough to make anyone gag, and since my nose was like a dog's, it was far more putrid to me.

"You dare mock me?" it scowled, its red eyes boring into my black ones.

I nodded. "Yup!" I said as I jumped over another attack. I could see that it was getting more and more frustrated with me as it couldn't hit me. I poked my tongue out at it childishly… and made a big mistake as it smacked the back of my neck with its tail. "Ouch!" I cried as I slammed into a tree. I slumped onto the ground, my neck throbbing painfully.

"Now you die!" it hissed. I grimaced. Great. I was a sitting duck.

"Destructo… DISC!" someone shouted, and I saw the creature look behind it only to have its head chopped off. I sat up and rubbed my neck as blood gushed out of the creature's body. I saw a man with shaggy black hair land near me and look over at me. "Hey Raditz," he said. I stared at him.

"Krillin?" I said, bewildered. I saw more people begin to land. He'd brought the whole lot of them with him! Kakarot landed to my right, and Vegeta landed to my left. I looked at the both of them, shocked. "Hang on, why are all of you here?" I said, my eyes widening. Vegeta smirked.

"You were generating enough energy to fuel the planet's energy needs," he said. I frowned. Wow. Suddenly I heard a weird noise, and I looked back at the monster…

Only to see it stick its head back on.

"That's gross," I said, flinching back. There was a collective 'ew' from everyone. "Also, that's bad. That means that no matter what we do, that creature will put itself back together…"

"Everything has a weak point," Kakarot said. He sounded so confident and certain. I looked over at him. My eyes widened as I took in his features. His hair was golden, and almost as long as mine. His eyebrows appeared to have disappeared too. I stumbled back. What was that? It looked like the Super Saiyan… but there was something different about it.

"Ka-kakarot?" I asked, my voice shaking. He looked over at me.

"Leave the rest to me now," he said, and rushed forward. His speed was incredible, and all I could do was stand there and watch as he mercilessly pummelled the creature I'd struggled to even get one hit on. Then I noticed that there was something wrong. While Kakarot's new transformation had given him a lot of power, his energy was being consumed at a massive rate. This wasn't good.

"Kakarot, stop!" I yelled. He didn't move a muscle unless it was him throwing a punch or a kick. I growled. Damn younger Saiyan. "Kakarot!" I yelled. I saw Gohan look over at me. Rage bubbled in my veins, and I couldn't help it. I shot forward and smashed my foot into the creature's claw just as it was about to swipe at Kakarot. He looked at me, bewildered.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded. I looked at him.

"Listen to me, you idiot! You may be infinitely stronger, but you're wasting your energy!" I yelled. He stopped, and everyone looked over at us. Vegeta's face made me want to giggle. He looked silly. Well, I suppose nobody had seen anyone yell at Kakarot like I had.

"How… can you… tell?" Kakarot asked curiously. I shook my head. I didn't need to tell him that. He knew the answer. That kind of power put strain on the body. There was no time to answer anyway. I grabbed Kakarot's arm and pulled him out of the way of a ki blast from the creature. Unfortunately, while Kakarot dodged without harm, the ki blast smashed into my shoulder and sent me crashing down into the clearing. "Raditz!" Kakarot yelled as he flew down. I managed to stand and pointed my hand at the creature. I started charging my energy, and from the corner of my eye I saw Vegeta's face pale.

"MOVE!" he screamed at Kakarot as a huge pink energy sphere appeared into my hand. Kakarot backed off as I continued to charge the sphere and it continued to grow stronger. Everyone rushed behind something, and I saw the creature stop. It started laughing at me.

"You think that'ssssssssssssss going to work on me again?" it hissed. My eyes flashed.

"As I said earlier, I was a lot weaker back then. But now I'm a lot stronger… and this is a different attack from the simple energy blasts I was firing at you back then," I said, grinning evilly as I finished charging the attack and raised my hand above my head. The creature floated a bit towards me.

"You're bluffing," it hissed.

_Am I?_

"Shining Friday!" I screamed, throwing the energy ball. Stupidly, the creature tried to catch the ball. I floated in the sky as my attack exploded, my dark eyes searching the smoke. The tickling sensation I felt around the creature wasn't gone, but it was to my left. I quickly swung around as it appeared, and I heard a sickening crunch as I slammed my balled fist into its ugly face. It squealed as it fell. I saw Vegeta and Kakarot run out from behind their hiding spot and stare at me in amazement as I fired an energy barrage.

"What… wassssss… that?" the creature hissed. I crossed my arms and huffed.

"What was what? My energy attack or my punch?" I asked.

"How did you gather so much energy?" it hissed at me, turning to me. Black blood was dripping down from its snout, and I laughed.

"Hah! I got that from my reserves… and that was for what you did to my father," I said. It growled at me as it flew towards me. I tried to combat the move, but it swung its tail at me. I screamed as it slammed into my back, and I slammed into the ground. "I think… I touched… a nerve… Agh…"

"Raditz, no!" I heard a voice scream, and I looked up to see someone blocking the monster's tail from hitting me again. I heard Kakarot and Vegeta gasp. "Urk… don't just stand there… Move him…" I heard the man say, and then five sets of hands pulled me out of the way. The man moved out of the way faster than the eye could see, and the creature's tailed slammed into the ground as the man appeared next to me. His black hair was held out of his face by a red headband, and I immediately recognised him.

"F-father… B-but how?" I asked, sitting up. My back felt like it exploded in pain, and I screamed loudly as I felt backwards.

"Raditz, I'm breaking _all_ the rules."

"But… you shouldn't have…" I groaned, trying to sit up again. Dad placed his hand on my chest.

"No, my son. Rest. I'll take it from here!" Dad roared as he flew forward. Everyone could only watch as Dad continued what I'd started. I could only watch as Dad dodged blows that would have killed him if they'd hit.

And then it happened.

A golden aura flared around my father, and I saw his hair stick up exactly like Kakarot's did. I heard everyone gasp in shock as Dad went Super Saiyan. Terror settled within me. My dad… was a Super Saiyan? Since when?!

"Since I fought Chilled," Dad said, seemingly able to read my mind. I frowned. I hadn't asked him out loud, yet he'd been able to give me an answer… How?

"Dad, how'd you do that?" I asked.

"Raditz, that's a story for another time!" Dad yelled as he jumped away from the creature's paw. He landed on the ground only to have his feet kicked out from underneath him. I saw his head slam against a rock. My eyes widened as he didn't move.

_Dad… wake up…_

"No… please…" I murmured, crawling over to Dad and shaking him lightly. "Dad, please wake up," I said, forgetting that there was a hideous monster attacking us all.

"Raditz, move!" Vegeta cried, and I looked up to see the monster's tail right above me.

_Oh no you don't!_

I caught the tail as it tried to crush me. Everyone was shocked as I stood up, lifting the tail above me as if it were nothing more than a feather. I saw Vegeta's eyes widen and nearly bug out of his head. I roared as I threw the creature into the sky. I fired a volley of energy blasts up after it, and ignored the creature entirely as it landed on the ground behind me. It was twitching, from what I saw using my peripheral vision. Suddenly it got back up, but I wasn't finished with it yet.

It seemed as if Dad had, however.

He jumped up and I saw that he'd charged a signature move of his, the Riot Javelin. I took a few steps back as he raised his hand and prepared to fire it.

"Here, have it!" he roared. It slammed into the monster's chest and exploded, leaving a gaping hole in its chest and revealing the creature's heart.

Its only weakness.

I saw Dad charging another Riot Javelin, and I covered my eyes as he threw it. As soon as it made contact, it exploded… and blew the monster's chest up with it. The flash was blinding, and blood and guts flew everywhere. Something long and squishy landed on my shoulder, and I flicked it off, not wanting to know what it was. The rest of the corpse was still gasping for breath, but with no lungs or heart it was going to die.

I walked over and knelt down near it. The tickling had ceased, so I was certain it was dead…

I was wrong.

"RADITZ!" Dad cried as the creature quickly stabbed me through the stomach with its claw. I coughed up blood as it withdrew its claw and faded away into nothing. I stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the ground. Dad ran over and cradled my head in his arms. Kakarot ran over and collapsed to his knees next to me. I could see tears in his eyes. I coughed again, and I felt my heart begin to slow. I saw everyone gather around, looking miserable. Piccolo and Eighteen even had something in their eyes, but I couldn't discern what it was. "Raditz… please don't die. Please!" Dad cried, hugging me. I had enough strength to lift my arm and wrap it around his torso.

"Dad… don't… worry about… me…" I said, smiling. It must have looked gruesome.

"Raditz, we're going to get you to the isolation chamber. Just hang on!" Vegeta said as I felt Dad pick me up. I laughed as much as I could, but the sound was desperate and forced. I coughed again, and blood splashed onto Dad's chest. I looked up into his eyes as we flew towards Capsule Corp. He looked down at me as I smiled, and I saw something in his eyes.

"Please don't die… you've been offered a second chance… Please live, my son," Dad said, tears running down his cheeks. My smile widened.

"I… love… you… Daddy."


	26. Chapter 26

I sat up as the warm sunlight streamed onto my face. I squinted and raised my arm as I looked over at it. The sky was clear and there was a light breeze. Perfect for a spring day. I stared out of the window, clutching the sheets of the bed I was in in shock. The seasons didn't change in Hell; every day was the same, with differences in temperature depending on the level of Hell you were sent to. Yet this didn't seem like Hell. It didn't even seem like any part of the Other World.

"Wha… Am I… still alive?" I asked myself.

"Yeah! You're awake, Raditz!" I heard, moments before my clownish little brother glomped me. He seemed so happy to see me, and after a few moments I hugged him back. When we let each other go, he sat on the edge of my bed and grinned at me. "Wow. We didn't think you'd ever wake. Dad said that even with the isolation chamber, you still had a slim survival chance," he said solemnly.

"I… had so much venom running through my body… I really should have died…" I murmured. I looked down at my balled fists. Suddenly I felt something, and I looked over at the door to see Gohan and Vegeta walk in, along with the rest of the gang. Vegeta walked over to me and smiled. "Why are you smiling? Is there something I don't know?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at Vegeta. He laughed.

"I'm just glad to see you're alive and well," he said. I tried to poke him in the arm, but when I moved my arm I felt something move and I went white. Ohnonononono. I dreaded looking down, but I did so anyway.

Sticking out of my arm was an IV needle. _Needle… There's a needle in you._ I began to panic. I didn't dare pull it out, but I definitely didn't want it stuck in there.

"Hey… uh… can someone get this out of me?" I whispered desperately, motioning my arm. I saw Vegeta's fingers wrap around the needle and pull it out. I shuddered and looked away as the nurse came in after noticing that it had been removed. I looked up at her, horrified that she'd done such a thing, but she ignored me. She chastised Vegeta (who ignored her) and left in a huff. I laughed. "Well, it seems as if she's got issues," I said snarkily. Everyone laughed as Kakarot poked his tongue out at her.

"Well, you seem alright. Can you stand?" Chi-Chi asked me. I knew there was only one way to test that. I pushed the blankets off and stood, noticing that my tail was again gone.

"Hey! Where'd it go? It grew back earlier," I said, looking over at Vegeta for an explanation. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Raditz… but we made sure it would _never_ grow back," he said, looking away. I stared sadly at him… but then I smiled, much to everyone's surprise. "Are you alright?" Vegeta asked cautiously.

"I'm fine. You're the prince of my entire race, Vegeta. I trust that what you did was the right thing to do," I said. Everyone looked at me as Vegeta smiled.

"Well, we don't really want a rampant Great Ape running around… and no offense Raditz, but you're a major klutz sometimes. I had a feeling that if we simply allowed your tail to constantly grow back, you wouldn't be missing it for long."

"Bastard," I said jokingly. Everyone laughed as Vegeta and I started playfully arguing. I stopped as Vegeta chastised Trunks for waking another patient, and Bulma chastised him as well. I looked out the window and into the sky. I couldn't see him, but I knew Dad was there, watching over both Kakarot and I. It made me feel happy that we had a guardian angel… even if he had a long way to go before he was ever an angel.

"Dad… don't worry about me." I seemed to be saying that a lot, lately. The guy never stopped worrying about me. It was kind of funny, in a way. Dad had always protected me. "Now I'll protect Kakarot."

"Hey, Raditz, get changed! We're going!" Kakarot said cheerfully. I looked over at him and smiled. I walked over to a neatly folded pile of clothes and picked them up as everyone left to give me privacy. I quickly changed, but saw something move out of my peripheral vision. I walked back over to the window and looked out, looking for whatever I'd seen. I frowned as I didn't see anything. I must have been hallucinating. I closed the window and, with one final glance at the hospital room, I walked out to my new family.

We walked out to the bright sunshine, and I shielded my eyes as I looked up. I looked at the many people around me, but I no longer felt the urge to kill them all. I smiled as Kakarot grabbed my arm and dragged me down the street. Everyone chased after him, happily yelling at him to stop. And me?

I'd been offered a second chance at life.

And there was no way I was wasting it.


End file.
